Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----advising householders not to pay the household charge.

More than 1,045,000 householders ignored the Deputy's advice and paid the charge. There are, however, large numbers of people who took the Deputy's advice and who are increasingly finding they have more to pay now than they would have last year if they had not listened to the Deputy and some of his colleagues in the first place.

It was always the case, and the Government made this clear at the outset, that the household charge would be replaced by a property tax. Deputy Boyd Barrett professes to be a socialist and I have never met a socialist who does not feel a property tax should be proceeded with. Can the Deputy tell me if he favours the introduction of a property tax and if he is in favour of such a tax, can he give us the benefit of his guidance on what he thinks would be a fair property tax? The Government is working on this and we would value the Deputy's opinion so let us have it. We have already made clear we intend to introduce a property tax and would value the Deputy's input, instead of him jumping up and own and organising protests about something that has not been introduced at all. Let us be constructive for a change, let him leave down the picket sign and take up the pen and set out for us his proposals on a property tax and what he thinks would be a fair system. If he is not in a position to tell us now in the House, he could let us know over the course of time so we could have the benefit of his wisdom on the matter.

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