Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Government is not in the business of bullying anybody. However, we do want to be straight with people. Deputy McDonald, her party and those others who are campaigning against the household charge should do likewise. There is no point in misleading people into believing that the charge will not have to be paid, that it will be wished away or that it will be made to vanish. Households are required to pay the charge. If it is not paid, the normal penalties and interest charges that apply in respect of unpaid taxes will come into play. Those such as Sinn Féin and others who are encouraging people not to pay the charge are simply misleading them. As a result, households will incur increasing debts. That is not fair on the households concerned. It is fair enough if individuals adopt a political position of opposing the charge. Members can oppose it in the House and so on. However, Sinn Féin and others are going to great lengths to encourage and advise people not to pay the charge.

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