Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill and I commend my colleague, Deputy Stanley, on bringing it before the House. I concur with some of the sentiments of Deputy Healy-Rae, who made a great deal of sense.

Sinn Féin has consistently opposed the household charge since its introduction in December 2011 and has done so for a number of reasons. First, it is our belief that the charge is fundamentally unfair in that it fails to differentiate between those on low incomes and the rich. Simply put, the household charge penalises hard-pressed middle class families, the working poor and those on social welfare while the wealthy and affluent avoid paying their just share. Where is the fairness in expecting a single man in receipt of €188 on invalidity pension to pay the same as someone earning €100,000 or more? It is just not fair. The household charge is a product of the Government's decision to cut funding to local authorities. This funding was then redirected for other purposes.

The Fine Gael-Labour Government had, of course, other options and it could have raised the €160 million needed for local authorities in a variety of ways. For example, it could have capped public service pay at €100,000, increased taxes on high earners and introduced a wealth tax. The Government could have made a determined effort to improve its collection of commercial water rates, 48% of which still remain uncollected. However, it made a conscious and ill-conceived decision to penalise ordinary people, a significant proportion of whom are already struggling to survive.

In my constituency of Cork East, I am, unfortunately, all too familiar with the difficulties people face as a result of this charge. For example, one of my constituents, a 55 year old man with special needs, was so terrified and frightened by the charge that he came to my constituency office seeking assistance. Although in receipt of invalidity benefit of €188, this gentleman was still expected to pay the €100 household charge as he lived alone in a small house left to him by his recently deceased mother.

Another of my constituents, a full-time carer was also very concerned about where she was going to find the extra money to pay this additional tax. This woman, like so many others, was living on a carer's allowance of €188 a week and already finding it difficult to make ends meet. Surely this, and other examples, highlight the inherently unjust nature of the household charge.

Indeed, this charge is so essentially flawed and unjust that it should be scrapped. Ordinary people throughout Ireland are aware of this fact as are significant sections of the trade union movement, community groups and civil society. The Government's blinkered approach to this issue as evidenced by its refusal to look for alternative sources of funding, coupled with ongoing threats to cut essential local services, is yet another chapter in the politics of fear. The Labour Party's willingness to be an active participant in implementing this and other charges, and the speed with which it betrayed those who voted for it at the last general election, is evidence, as if it were needed, of how out of touch the Government is with ordinary people.

Sinn Féin is committed to building a fair, just and more equitable society. The Local Government (Household Charge)(Repeal) Bill 2012 is an attempt to begin this process. With this in mind, I would urge Opposition and, indeed, Government Members to support this Bill and repeal the household charge.

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