James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

It is particularly puzzling when one considers the benefit to the State of having the burden of the provision of care removed. I am particularly concerned that this levy is being debated at this point when residential property tax and domestic service charges are being mooted. If these are imposed, will the elderly person in the nursing home then end up paying a treble tax on the house that is not being regarded as a primary residence, but rather a second home for the purpose of this legislation? This will in all probability become a residence for the purpose of the residential tax. The law may be an ass, but it is in the ha'penny place compared to the actions of the Government.

If one considers the rapid rise of the so-called registration fee for third level colleges which will amount of €1,500 this September, the introduction of a €200 levy, while unacceptable in the short term, has far more worrying long-term implications. The Government has a worrying record of stealth taxes, which is what this levy is. It is an attempt to make good the shortfall in funding for local authorities at the expense of the middle income earners, who as always will be hardest hit. Those who raised a mortgage to buy a place in the country, as opposed to a mobile home or a villa abroad, as a means of saving have invested heavily in the area into which they bought and they pay tax on the income if they rent the property.

The Government actively encouraged people to buy rural properties. Does the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Finneran, not realise that the countryside is awash with unsold properties? This is particularly evident in my own county of Longford and also in County Roscommon. These properties are becoming derelict and will soon be a blot on the landscape. This is the result of the sham Government schemes which have led to the destruction of the countryside, particularly our small villages. Many of the developers responsible for the rash of now unsold or unfinished estates were in bed with the Galway tent guys. Second-home buyers who fell for the Government spin are now being rewarded by the imposition of this levy. Ironically, if they had merely bought a mobile home they would be exempt. This is a farce as some mobile homes are worth far more than small rural properties and yet, due to public outcry, they will be exempt from taxation. The public are flexing their muscles as they realise that the louder they shout, the easier it is to get the Government to do a U-turn. This happened on Joe Duffy's show only two weeks' ago.

See this speech in context