Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There was dismay in the farming community and among farm organisations when it became clear that the Government's proposal to triple to 6% the rate of stamp duty on commercial property would apply to farmland, despite the assurances of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Sinn Féin supported an amendment tabled by Deputy Fitzmaurice in an attempt to amend the Government's proposal, but Fianna Fáil abstained when it was put to a vote and this measure therefore came into effect. I know the Minister has read Sinn Féin's alternative budget, which proposed to increase the rate of stamp duty on commercial property to 4%. As the banking inquiry pointed out, commercial real estate was one of the major causes of the banking crash. For that reason, it needs to be monitored and taxed appropriately and that is what we had in mind in our pre-budget submission. It was never our intention to make life even more difficult for Irish farmers.

See this speech in context