John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

One of the things I did not mention in my response was the introduction for the first time of a tax on second homes. I recall vividly that when it was introduced, Deputies on the Opposition benches said we would be lucky to collect €20 million. In fact, we have collected up to €63 million very quickly. It has worked efficiently. I do not think the local authorities can complain because we have been as generous as we can, in the current circumstances. When the pay reduction was imposed, they were allowed to retain a substantial amount of it.

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