Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am very pleased that Deputy McCormack raised the issue of contribution levies in County Wicklow because, as he is aware, his colleagues on the county council reduced the levies before the local elections and increased them after the elections. This was an extraordinary example of levying a stealth tax. It was extraordinary behaviour on the part of councillors, who made the decisions to both lower and raise the levies. If Deputy McCormack has problems with that, he might like to speak to the leader of the Fine Gael group in Wicklow County Council. I certainly disagreed with the approach that was adopted.

Development levies are not simply levied on individual households. Community facilities and some funding for necessary infrastructure are supposed to be covered by levies. I am not sure if Deputy McCormack is suggesting that he would completely abolish levies were he to enter Government. If so, he would pass the cost on to general taxpayers and be forced to tell them where it came from.

We can all play games with the issue of levies. The most important thing we can do in respect of levies is to ensure that they are transparent. I agree with the general thrust of Deputy McCormack's question, which is that levies should be transparent, that local authority members must have full information and that local communities must see where the money is spent. That is the only way for local councillors and communities to see whether they are getting value for money.

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