Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I had an opportunity to speak on this last night. I will now make points on this section similar to those made by other speakers. The EU-IMF agreement mentioned a property tax. How do we define a property tax? We call this a household charge. It is very similar to the Financial Provisions Act 1983 which introduced water and refuse charges. The Act had nothing to do with water and refuse charges but was about plugging a gap in the local government system. There was a reluctance to increase taxation because of the already very high tax rates, but the Act was quickly found to have nothing to do with water or refuse. This Bill has nothing to do with a household charge. Money is to be paid into a central fund and it is likely there will be an equalisation element to its distribution. No account is taken of ability to pay. If a person is on mortgage interest supplement and cannot work full-time, that will be found out quickly.

There is one point that should be taken into account. Until now, charges such as the universal social charge have been taken from people's wages. The cuts were taken out of social welfare payments and there was a certain element of powerlessness involved. There will not be that same powerlessness with a charge when people must physically go out and opt for paying it. I believe large numbers of people will make the choice and say this is a step too far.

See this speech in context