Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

We will come to this in a moment but before we do so let us take as an example a group of citizens with serious difficulties with how motor taxation is levied who form a group and as part of a civil disobedience protest and a demand for change advocate the withholding of motor tax for a period. This could be criminalised under the Offences Against the State Act and the progression I have gone through could be implemented. It gives dictatorial powers to the Government. Since the Minister referred to it, 50% of the households in the State are engaged in a major boycott of the household tax.

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