John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

The concept of a property tax is being examined, as the Deputy knows, by the Commission on Taxation, which is due to report in September. We will consider all its proposals. It is investigating a range of proposals including a carbon tax and some form of property tax. We have been assured by the Minister for Finance that the carbon tax will be introduced but, again, it is premature to talk about the sort of property taxes, if any, that are being considered or that will be recommended. That does not preclude us, however, from going ahead with the €200 levy to which I referred in my reply. The legislation will be introduced and it will be a significant step forward in terms of broadening the revenue base for local authorities.

Applications for schemes such as housing aid for the elderly have increased, but, in terms of what local authorities can and cannot do, we are also looking at a substantial decrease in the number of planning applications, for example. Thus, I do not think there will be a problem with a backlog. The only problem will be whether we can sustain the investment from my Department over the current period or will need to make substantial cutbacks. In essence, the Deputy's question is about sustaining such services through capital investment. The frank answer is that under the current circumstances, of course we will have to make adjustments. There is no question about that. We will consider all aspects, including the question of the voting machines, which I am considering in detail. As I have said many times, I will be in a position to make a judgment on that as soon as I get the progress report.

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