Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What is really infuriating people are the press reports that one Michael O'Leary, who lives in a mansion nearby, will have a lower local property tax bill than my neighbours'. His house has been estimated to be worth between €100,000 and €150,000. Will the Minister confirm that this is accurate? One Mr. Quinn in Cavan, who also lives in a mansion, will be billed for €112 for this year, which is much less than the houses in my estate are being charged. My neighbours are at a loss to understand this.

The problem is that this tax is a blunt instrument, with no differentiation between houses with one bedroom and those with 17 bedrooms. It is simply determined based on the electoral areas in which the houses are located. The legislation was rammed through without this being taken into consideration, never mind people's ability to pay, and there are no exemptions, only deferrals.

Will the Minister address the fact that bills have been sent to local authority tenants when they were not meant to be? Will he address the issue of houses being overvalued when the prices reached for sales over the past four months were much less? Will he also address the fact that mansions belonging to billionaires, millionaires and former billionaires have been billed for less than our houses?

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