Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It simply does not make sense. I do not understand the Deputy's point about Fine Gael councillors being allowed to express their opinions as to what is best for their communities, as did Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin councillors. While Deputy Stanley's party might favour a central control type of structure, in my party we put forward candidates and let them get elected for their communities.

The whole essence of the local property tax is that people elected locally can look at the tax situation for their communities and decide what projects need to be funded. It is their decision to lower the local property tax in an area or to put it up. They can ring-fence it and decide what to use the money for - playgrounds, more roads or maintenance. They are decisions that people who are elected to local government get to make. It empowers them. In areas such as Dublin, as the Deputy has rightly said, his own party has agreed with mine and Fianna Fáil that there was scope to lower the local property tax. They are local decisions and that is what we should be doing.

We will have to debate the Deputy's argument about water charges another day. Even his friends in Syriza pay water charges.

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