Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The idea of a State is that one pays taxes according to one's ability and the tax code, and the money is meant to be distributed on an equitable basis to those who need it. I do not understand the premise that urban people - I am an urban person by upbringing myself - should have a greater right than rural people to have their waste water taken away and treated and the system upgraded and maintained for free. I do not understand that premise, because we all pay tax on the same basis. I, as a Deputy, pay the same tax as Deputy Mitchell. In fact, I pay more taxes than she does.

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