Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I will take up from where the Minister finished. To be polite about it, I hope the Minister is just being coy in not wanting to divulge what will be in the budget. We obviously do not expect him to do that. We know he cannot do that. However, I have a memory and I am not stupid. When he was questioned about the RZLT, the Taoiseach put on the record of the Dáil that common sense will obviously have to apply, if primary legislation is needed to make adjustments that agricultural land that is actively being farmed cannot be taxed. All the committee members have much more experience than me. They know the Taoiseach cannot come to the Dáil and say something on the record unless it is factual, true and he believes it.

I will tell the truth. I am telling farmers to look at what the Taoiseach said on the record of the Dáil, if they are genuine farmers, or if their land is leased or rented and is being actively farmed. I am not talking about nonsense such as somebody with two donkeys, a lovely pony or something, like Father Ted's "My Lovely Horse", who are only codding and the land is actually being hoarded. If somebody is hoarding land, I have no problem whatsoever with the full implementation of the tax. That is fine. There is no problem. I do not disagree with the thrust of what the Government is doing. I know, however, there are farms in the middle of towns where people are milking cows. There are people in Killarney town who are actively milking 70 cows and are within the 30-mile limit. They are near schools and everything but have active farms and are milking cows there. To ask those people to pay a tax is ridiculous and, to be fair, the Taoiseach was very clear on it. All I am assuming and presuming is that the Minister does not want to declare anything tonight. I certainly hope that common sense will prevail. This cannot be fudged. A farmer, or anybody using land for agricultural purposes, cannot be asked to pay a tax on it because to do so would be crazy.

I will briefly raise a couple of other issues. A fair share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, BAR, fund must be ring-fenced for farmers. We are facing potential displacement in the UK market in 2024 of maybe €300 million of beef and €75 million of sheep meat due to the Australia and New Zealand trade deals. We have to be very careful about how we will protect our farmers. To date, only 5% of the fund has gone to primary agriculture. No BAR funding should be returned to the EU and the December 2023 deadline should be extended.

With regard to funding for environmental measures independent of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, the IFA is continuously seeking substantial additional funding independent of CAP. It is required to support farmers in achieving their environmental objectives. People cannot be made achieve something without support. They do not have a bottomless pit of money. There is no reserve of money. This funding must also address the significant income loss suffered by farmers whose land was designated in prior years without appropriate compensation. One of the things we always knew and said, going back to when I was on Kerry County Council, was there could never be designation without compensation. That was the mantra. I hope the Minister will take on board what I said.

I heard some of the freedom fighters from the Labour Party today. In the interests of keeping my nose clean, I will declare an interest in the property market and the provision of accommodation to all sectors of society. I heard Labour Party members say that it was ridiculous for the Minister to even consider reducing the tax rate for property owners. It should be remembered they are not landlords but are people who were there long ago. They are not in existence anymore. They are people who own properties and rent them out. I will make it quite clear. I would not be doing my job right if I did not raise this with the Ministers. Just because I am involved in the business, does not mean I am debarred from talking about it.

People who are property owners in County Kerry are saying to me to say to the Ministers that something must be done from a taxation point of view. I hear people in the Dáil talking about a tax rate of 50% or 52%. Obviously, none of them is paying it or they would know it is actually 56%. I am not picking on my good friend and colleague, Deputy Boyd Barrett, but I remind him and others that when a person who owns a property gets rent of €1,000, he or she has €440 to pay the bank, to pay maintenance, to pay for the white goods, and to pay and compensate for people who do not pay the rent at all, who wreck the property, and go away down the road and leave you with that. That is obviously not everybody. It is a small percentage, but it is a fact that it is a cost that has to be taken into account by anybody in that business. Property owners get €440 out of €1,000. The biggest takers in rent are the Minister for Finance, the Exchequer and the Government. Something should be done about that. The number of people who have left the market is obvious. I keep hearing people say, "small property owners".

What is a small property owner? There are people who could have two properties or multiple properties, but my main focus is the small operators because, at the end of the day, it is just a business, the same as milking 20 cows or 200 cows. Something must be done for those people. They are relying on this budget and if this change does not happen, we will be in a bad way in this country because a share of those who are left will make a swift exit. I am fully confident of that and I am terrified of that because I know what the consequences are going to be, given the number of people who are coming to me. I voted in the past for the extension of the eviction ban and I supported People Before Profit today because of the number of people who are coming to me in Kerry who are detrimentally affected.

Obviously, I can see it from both sides. There are property owners who want their property back but if the person in the house does not have a place to go to, and if they are paying their rent and keeping the property right, we have to be fair. I respect the right of a person to get their property back but, at the same time, we have to be fair in this world. If they are paying their rent, I do not see why the property owner should be able to force them out. I really do not agree with that and, again, because of what I do, I can understand it. I know there are people who are angry with me for saying this, but the political side of me sees the social need and sees that people cannot make themselves homeless.

I know local authority homeless facilities are stretched and there is no more they can do for people. We literally could have people out on the street, and we cannot have that. I am not just asking, I am saying on behalf of the private rental sector to please do something, but do something meaningful. Do not let it be tokenism so people will say “For God’s sake, is that the best we are going to do?”, and then put their property up for sale. The problem we will all have then is frightening. I do not want us to face that nightmare scenario because it will be horrendous.

It is bad enough trying to keep the people who are in the private market in it, never mind trying to encourage new people into it. That will not happen. The only new people who are going to get into the rental market in Ireland are the really big people, the people who come in and buy 1,000 units, 500 units or 300 units. The ordinary person who would buy a property and then rent it out does not exist at present and they are not going to be coming into it. This is a fire brigade action of trying to keep the people we have in the business and keep them providing accommodation.

I apologise if I have gone on too long but I had to say those couple of things.