Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Local authorities have development levies and those levies are there to try to ensure that development activity is taxed. I do not think Deputy Boyd Barrett's argument holds up. He has drawn a distinction between a wealth asset and a wealth-producing asset. Somebody's house is their home, for nearly all people, and I respect that. I am very sensitive to how people feel about the local property tax, how large a bill comes in each year and the difficulty many people face in paying it. To have a definition of wealth that excludes that value of a home is extraordinary, however. It is an asset and if all of that wealth is carried forward, via the exclusion of the homes of millionaires and very wealthy people from tax, I am afraid that proves to me further the uniqueness of the Irish left. Saying that does not get in the way of the respect I have for the work Deputy Boyd Barrett does.

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