Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Deputies who contributed to the debate, especially Deputy McGuinness for giving us an opportunity to discuss the issue. I also recognise the considerable work and research he did on the legislation.

I have outlined the reasons the Government opposes the Bill. The principal reason is that many of the proposals raise significant legal and constitutional issues which essentially render it unworkable.

In the short time available, I will try to address some of the points raised. Some Deputies questioned my contribution to the debate. For the information of the House, I am a businessman and I have employed people in my small business in a small rural town. My family has been employers in a small rural town since the 1970s and employs people to this day. I am pleased to report that a business operated by my brother has increased employment recently as a result of the economic upturn. I hear at first hand the challenges businesses face on a daily basis as they seek to meet overheads, pay bills and staff and keep the door open and business going. This challenge is ongoing, having been especially severe during the economic crisis of the past five years.

As Deputies McConalogue and O'Donovan stated, the rating system has been in place since the mid-1800s. Numerous attempts have been made around the edges to try to reform it. To date, Governments have failed to implement the deep reform of the system for which many Deputies have called. There are many reasons for this failure. A number of Deputies referred to the Valuation Bill currently before the House. The previous Valuation Bill was introduced in 2001. I note comments made at that time by Deputy Sean Fleming who made a strident contribution on this legislation this morning. He described the 2001 Bill as a new concept and argued that the country would see the full benefit of it when it became fully operational, one, two or three years after its enactment.

In fact, we did not see the full benefit because that legislation sat on the shelf for a number of years and only three or four local authorities were revalued from 2001 to 2011. The current Valuations Bill is trying to expedite that process. Previous Governments have failed with regard to this issue but that does not mean that we do not continue to evaluate and revise how local authority funding operates in this country. The Deputy has alluded to the fact that this Government has taken hard decisions to try to widen the tax base that funds local authorities. We have introduced the local property tax to bring a level of accountability for the funding that is raised and spent in local authority areas. We have also strengthened local government through the Local Government Reform Act. Under the Act, audit committees with real powers in local authorities can examine how rates and the local property tax are being spent within their respective counties.

I am not referring to Deputy McGuinness but some Opposition Deputies, some of whom are from Sinn Féin or are Independents like Deputy Mattie McGrath, who is a good friend and colleague of mine from the south east, oppose the local property tax and genuine efforts by this Government to broaden the tax base and at the same time, look for commercial rates to be reduced. We cannot have it every way. I genuinely feel that it would be beneficial if we could widen the tax base and then possibly arrange through the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government for a deep analysis of how we fund our local authorities and how commercial rates, the local property tax and indeed the rates that will be collected through Irish Water are being spent in the individual local authorities. I know Deputy O'Donovan called for a commission. Until we get that analysis, I certainly believe that we cannot reform the system we have which literally sustains local services in local authorities.

I understand the frustration of Deputy McGuinness because I have been in business and my family is in business. I want to support businesses in whatever way I can. I suspect that this is a debate to which we will return because as the economy improves, and I think it is improving, we need to see that continue. When it does, I hope that retailers and small and medium-sized enterprises about which we are speaking will see their fortunes improve but that does not mean we take our eye off the ball. We need full accountability and transparency in respect of how local authorities are funded. Our councillors, our local authority system and this Parliament have an important role to play in that. I suspect that we will revisit this issue but I welcome the debate today. I see the genuine intent behind the Bill. We are opposing it for the reasons outlined but that is the position of Government.

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