Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will consider what the Minister said. I welcome the fact he is considering those concerns and has considered them in the drafting of the legislation. Regarding the rate, is it not fairly self-evident that properties are appreciating to a degree that is multiples of what the Minister is talking about? If average property taxes are a few hundred euro and the tax is three times that, say €1,000 or €1,500, based on the appreciation of property prices at the moment, it would still be very profitable for someone to pay that because by the end of the year the property they have been sitting on will be worth 10% more than at the beginning of the year. That might be €30,000, €40,000 of additional value in that property. That €1,000 or €1,500 is nothing compared with the benefit they may perceive to have gained from to sitting on it empty.