Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

For many people, such work is vital to help them stay in their own homes and out of long-term residential care, thereby saving the State enormous sums of public money. Not only do these cuts represent a cruel way to treat vulnerable citizens, but, in addition, they are economic madness. Thousands of small builders and tradespeople found badly needed work when they were called on to carry out grant-aided housing adaptations. The Government is drastically reducing this source of economic activity. Incidentally, this activity freed up further cash in the economy as successful applicants used their own resources, limited though they may have been, to make up the balance of the cost. What public respect will be left for local democracy as a result of the Government's actions? An unjust tax has been imposed and labelled a local property tax just as services provided by local government are being slashed and local government is being disembowelled. Local economies across the State are being further weakened because the expendable income of so many of our people, which was already limited, is being reduced further by means of this family home tax.

I want to be very clear about Sinn Féin's determination on this tax. We want it to be abolished. That is it. Regardless of the outcome of the vote on this legislation tomorrow night, we will continue to campaign for its abolition. The deadline for filing returns has passed, but that does not mean the fight against this tax is over - far from it. People need to continue to show their opposition to this tax to ensure it will be abolished sooner or later and to prevent the Government from increasing it next year or the year after. It has been suggested that the surviving local authority entities might add to it in their own interests in future years. The family home tax demand that people have received relates to the six months from July to December 2013. Next year, they will be asked to pay double what they have had to contribute this year.

The Fine Gael-Labour Party Government is planning to introduce water charges in 2014. That will be another imposition on hard-pressed households while the salaries of super-rich bank bosses and other fat cats are protected. The Minister of State knows in her heart of hearts that there is an alternative. Her political instincts tell her that the alternative is to tax wealth rather than the family home. However, the Minister and her Labour Party colleagues are losing the battle in this coalition. A new top rate of tax for the highest earners would raise €365 million per year. A 1% tax on net wealth over €1 million, excluding business assets, working farms and 20% of family homes and pensions, would raise €800 million per year. Fair taxation, based on ability to pay, is a just demand that was championed by the Minister of State and others on the Labour Party benches over many years. They may have abandoned fair taxation, but we will certainly continue to demand it. Unlike the Labour Party, we will damn well implement it when we are in government.

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