Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Yes, I am. The spending of this revenue is a matter for local authorities and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, from a policy point of view. Deputy Durkan knows we have put quite some time into reviewing the future of the tax. We have had a debate over many years regarding the future of the local property tax and whether we should revalue or not. I have not become aware of significant issues or concerns about how this revenue is being spent. Senator Casey made an interesting point that 30% of the revenue on which local authorities make decisions comes from the local property tax. In my experience local authorities are aware of the importance of this revenue stream and the contribution it makes to the funding available to them. They try to make good and responsible decisions regarding how the money is spent. I am not aware of accounting or competence issues regarding how the funding is administered. Of course, there will always be political debate regarding where and how it is spent.