Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I heard nothing from Deputy Higgins that I have not heard from him before. In the Seanad, where we had more than 11 hours of debate on the Bill, all of the arguments, including many which were not alluded to by the Deputy, were put to me and to everybody else who attended the debate.

I will begin by clarifying several important points. Tens of thousands of people in this country will not have to pay this tax. These include those who live in local authority housing. No tenant of a local authority will be eligible for the charge. Likewise, no person renting private accommodation will have to pay the charge; all such persons are entirely and absolutely exempt.

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