Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The lack of transparency and the effort one must make to understand some of this are not healthy. I believe it will expose the funding system, given that people were told that a certain amount of their local property tax would be retained. There was a big pitch that they would see improvements in their areas, whereas there was a diminution of the fund from the point of view of motor tax and local property tax became the exclusive part of the local government fund. On the idea that 80% is retained and the self-funding aspect, is it likely to feature in any review and will there be a requirement to self-fund things such as housing and roads projects? This row takes place every year. It happens more in Dublin City Council, for example, where €106 million is collected nationally in the self-funding area and €85 million is accounted for by the four Dublin local authorities. One hears the argument that money is being taken from initiatives to deal with homelessness, whereas that would not be a feature for the bulk of local authorities throughout the country. That is sending very strange messages about how local property tax is spent. Is the Department considering such matters with reference to the self-funding aspect? Does the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport discount the self-funding aspects when considering the grants it pays to local authorities?