Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

I join previous speakers in paying tribute to the late Jim Stynes who was a sporting hero, an Irish hero and a great Dubliner. I am sure that the thoughts, sympathies and solidarity of the Members of these Houses are with his family at what must be a very difficult time for them.

There are ten days left before the deadline and just over 80% of households have not paid the household charge. It is fair to state that the Government's handling of this issue has been shambolic. It is also fair to state that its desperation is evident, particularly when one considers the increasingly shrill tones used by Ministers in trying to frighten citizens into paying the charge. I put it to the Government that it should stop trying to bully the electorate and should instead try listening to it for a change. The reality is that in the context of this issue - as was the case with the DEIS schools - the Government has got it wrong.

It is not simply a matter of the way in which this issue has been handled. People know that the household charge is unfair, unjust and should be withdrawn. SIPTU, Unite, the CPSU, the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and others have called for this tax to be scrapped. Will the Government face facts? Will the Tánaiste inform me whether it is really intended to bring hundreds of thousands of citizens before the courts in respect of this issue, particularly when not a single banker has been jailed for causing the crisis in which we currently find ourselves? It is not a case of extending the deadline and neither is this a controversy with regard to whether the charge can be paid in a local post office. Will the Tánaiste accept that this unfair and unjust charge has failed and that it should be scrapped?

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