Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

It may be helpful to the Deputy if I explained how the measure will be interpreted. A national directive would be necessary to set out what can or cannot be taken into account when offering exemptions. The same rules would have to apply to every manager. I presume this would be a reserved function for the manager and the council would not make the decision. This power is comparable to that of the Revenue Commissioners in regard to reducing tax bills.

We spend €80 out of every €100 that comes into this country on education, health and social welfare. The social welfare budget is approximately €20 billion per annum and more than 400,000 people are unemployed. The State is taking in €16 billion less annually than it was at the height of the boom. We are in a difficult position but we have made it clear that we expect the charge to apply for approximately two years.

We will be bringing in a property tax. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, will establish an expert interdepartmental working group early in the new year to design a property tax that is equitable and builds on previous work in this area. The group will consider the modality of a property tax, including its scope, assessment criteria, exemptions and waivers and the means by which it should be collected. There will be opportunities for input into the group's deliberations and the Minister has asked it to report back to him by mid-2012. The tax will be levied according to an individual's wealth, property portfolio and income. I expect the Members opposite to support the property tax given that it will be based on principles of equity and ability to pay.

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