Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)

I rith an toghcháin, agus mé ag caint le daoine ag na doirse, bhí go leor daoine ag cuir ceist orm faoi seo. An cheist a bhí acu ná, “cá bhfuil an t-airgead ag dul?”. Caithfimid bheith níos soiléire faoi na háiteanna ina bhfuil an t-airgead don LPT ag dul. Is rud é sin gur gá dúinn díriú isteach air.

For most households, the message is pretty straightforward. Property values have gone up. In Dublin especially, local property tax will also go up. For houses valued at under €425,000, the increase is likely to be about €30 or €50 annually. That might sound fair on paper but the people whose doors I knocked on did not know where this money was going. That needs to be clear. We need to show the people paying the local property tax where exactly their extra taxes are going.

I have only recently been elected to this House. Working on Dublin City Council, I could see the centralised decision-making and standardised funding process. The local authorities and, in particular, councillors do not have the decision-making abilities they should have with regard to the local property tax. I am well aware they will be able to vote on whether the local property tax goes up or stays at the same rate but a clear system is needed to allow councillors to see where Dublin City Council is spending the local property tax increase and to decide where this increase in tax revenue will be put in their local areas. If councillors are going to be held responsible by the public for the lack of local services in their areas, then they need to have power over local budgets. It is not the case, from my experience, that councillors have enough power in their local areas. The local authority and the relevant civil servants decide where the money goes. The councillors can give their opinions and sign off on it, but they do not have enough power.

I want to see councillors being able to decide there is a need for public toilets, a disability centre or more funding for the local GAA club. This is something I would really like to see, and not with ten layers of approval from Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council or any of the local authorities. It matters for the people living in an area and paying this tax to know where the money is going and that the people they are voting for will have the ability to divert these tax revenues. This is what the tax is supposed to do. It is not just about raising revenue, but about reinvesting in the communities paying these taxes and paying for amenities in places where people can gather, learn and play. This is what a fair and functional local property tax system should deliver.

We should not underestimate the pressure that councillors are under. I was one and people think the councillor is the person making this decision. Who are they not to blame? If we are going to empower local government to make real change, let us start by giving councillors more autonomy over the direct funds raised when they are the ones deciding and going to be under the hammer. If we believe in community and participation, then let us hand this decision back and give more power to the councillors.

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