Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support this amendment from the Rural Independent Group. As my colleague has said, when the local property tax was set up, a promise was made to people that improvements in services would be made. It now looks to me that they will be paying much more than what they paid initially and they do not have improved services. In rural areas they certainly have not benefitted from the local property tax; perhaps they have in urban areas but that is something people from urban areas can talk about. I can only speak about the rural constituency I represent, with roads in a shocking state and a dearth of funding for those roads.

In County Cork alone, we have had the lowest relative rate of funding made available to us for roads over many decades, as proven in a recent report published by Cork County Council. I hope both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform have read that from cover to cover. It paints a bleak picture as to what has been done to Cork county and it must be discussed fully in the Dáil. That is for a later date.

What improved services have we got from the local property tax? If we are going to look at outside buildings, we need clarity on what is included. This Bill should not pass the Dáil if it includes farm buildings, extensions or little bits and pieces that people might have, such as outside rooms for washing etc. It does not matter what the purpose of them is. This is pointed very much towards being an extra tax on farmers and I am very seriously concerned about that. It is not what the local property tax was meant to be about.

Families are currently struggling greatly. I am hearing more and more stories proving this on my phone and at my weekend clinics. People tell me how they are struggling to make ends meet and the worries they have. Even businesses are starting to feel massive pressure. One businessman I spoke with last week has 13 vans in west Cork and he is talking about taking some of them off the road because fuel costs are crippling him. We are facing a very difficult time so adding more difficulties with increased property taxes would exasperate and anger people greatly. It is not what the local property tax should be for. It should have improved services and perhaps refuse should have been collected for free, for example. Such a service could prove the benefit of the local property tax.

I know there is an allocation of funding under the local improvement scheme and I encourage Ministers to consider that closely. It turns out there are only a few roads done with this in Cork county and I presume that is the same in other counties. It might sound like a lot when an announcement is made totalling millions of euro but when it is broken down into the roads being done in rural communities, the amount is down to practically nothing. There should be greater investment in the local improvement scheme, which is great, in fairness. I do not mean to discredit it as it is good that some money is being spent but there must be far greater investment in future.

I will speak to other amendments later but I will give others an opportunity to contribute. I certainly have grave doubts about what is happening with these changes to the local property tax. I do not support them in any way, shape or form if they end up punishing people, especially those in rural Ireland who are already paying quite a lot in their areas.

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