Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Sinn Féin is as aware as anybody that we are living in very difficult times. We have shown in each of our alternative budgets how we would do things differently and how we would face the challenges that the State faces in a fairer way. We know that there is no easy way out of the crisis, but the tax on the family home is not part of any fair solution. It is a tax on the family home for which people worked hard.

The people are not fools. They know where the money is going. They know it will go to pay for some of the excesses in Irish society and that angers them. To put this in context, the combined charges levied on the 1,000 households in Carrickmacross town will pay for the Minister of State's salary. The population of Bundoran comprises 1,600 families and if all of these households pay the local property tax this year, it will pay the Taoiseach's salary. Let us be clear: this tax will not pay for extra services or local amenities. It is simply an extra tax on people who own a home, but fundamentally at the core of this measure is an austerity tax which is being levied on home owners to pay off banking debts. Sinn Féin is clear on this issue - we should not - either in the past or in the future - be paying off the toxic debt of Anglo Irish Bank. The taking on of that debt by the Government was a bad day for the State and the people.

The promissory note is still with us; it will be with us for another generation but under a different name. What about the retrospective recapitalisation of the pillar banks through the ESM? We were told a year ago this month that there had been a seismic shift, but the fact is that this is a tax to pay the debt of the banks. When one looks closely at the figures, one sees how grave the situation is. The local property tax is being earmarked to take in €500 million a year, if every household in the State pays it. If every single household in the State pays it, it will take five and a half years to repay the so-called investment in Irish Life and Permanent. It will take nine and a half years to repay the money sunk into Bank of Ireland, ten and a half years to repay the debt of Irish Nationwide Building Society, 41 and a half years to repay the cost of bailing out AIB and more than 50 years of property taxes to recoup what was paid into Anglo Irish Bank. Overall, that is 125 years of property tax returns simply to pay off the toxic banking debt. Let us not pretend that this tax is anything to do with local services because the people simply are not buying it.

Sinn Féin has a different approach. What we ask is for those who have more to pay more. That is why we are committed to repealing this tax. That is the reason we have given a commitment, if we have the privilege of being elected to government after the next general election, to scrap it. Regardless of the outcome of the vote on this legislation tomorrow night, our party will continue to campaign against this tax because this issue is not going to go away. From next January the anger will increase across the State as people will have to pay a whole year's charge, double what is due this year, and they will note from the legislation that the following January county councils across the State will be able to increase the charge by 15%. We know what Fine Gael and Labour Party councillors are likely to do. Equally, councils will have the power to decrease the tax and every Sinn Féin candidate throughout the State who is successful in next year's local elections will be mandated to vote to reduce the change by the maximum of 15% allowable as soon as possible.

The Bill is part of our alternative. It has a simple aim, namely, to scrap the tax on the family home and refund anyone who has paid the tax this year. Any of our alternatives, or a combination of them, would replace the revenue lost. We provided them for the Department of Finance, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Social Protection and others in our alternative budget last year.

Since 2008 Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have done the wrong thing. They have surrendered to the diktats of the troika, failed to stand up for ordinary people and failed to demand fairness. Irish people, as we all know, have a very special affinity with their own home and land. It comes from our history, eviction and the Land League. Now at the behest of international capitalism but, ultimately, by its own hand, the Government will tax the family home. This extra new tax comes on top of the €28 billion in cuts and taxes introduced in a small number of years. We are told that the Government plans to wrench a further €5 billion in the next few years. It talks loudly about fairness, but the question must be asked as to where is the fairness in this tax. Where is the fairness after five years of austerity in taxing the roof over people's heads, while at the same time many of the crooks and chancers who caused the crash are still walking free, many of them outside the reach of NAMA, some of whom still owe hundreds of millions of euro, much more than this tax will raise this year. Others are walking around or being driven around the State and pocketing super pensions from it. They will be able to pay the tax, of that there is no doubt. Bertie Ahern will not flinch in paying his tax; neither will Mr. Michael Fingleton, but thousands upon thousands of others simply will not be able to pay it, while many others who have paid or will pay have made serious and major sacrifices and endured disturbances in their own lives to appease the Government. Those who cannot pay will be penalised with interest payments or have it siphoned from their pockets, their salaries or social welfare payments. Where is the fairness in this?

The cynicism with which the Government is bringing forward this tax is typical of an arrogant Government that is out of touch with the effects its policies are having on ordinary people. Sinn Féin has shown how we can reach our deficit targets, but we would do so in a different and fairer way. We have shown how a wealth tax - set out in legislation we drafted - on assets above €1 million, excluding working farms and businesses, could bring in more than this tax is earmarked to bring in. We have shown how there is room to increase capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax. We have also shown how there is room to introduce a betting tax or a third rate of tax for high earners with incomes above €100,000, but the Government is not interested in any of these alternatives. We just have to consider what it is doing. This is a Government that is committed to repaying every last cent, plus billions of euro in interest on Anglo Irish Bank's debt, with which the State has been saddled for generations to come. This is a Government that trembles and sits on its hands while bankers in bailed out banks are awarding themselves ridiculous salaries and pensions, yet the Government tells us there are no alternatives, which is simply not true. There are alternatives, but the Government does not want to hear what they are. It is not interested. There are alternatives and they would not bring the economic and social damage this tax will cause.

Let there be no doubt about it: this tax will push more people into mortgage arrears and others will see the threat of repossession progressed, particularly as a result of the removal of the safeguard in the Dunne judgment by the Government. Ordinary people across this State who are burdened with austerity and who are trying to get on with their ordinary lives - people who have made or who will make the payment - are under serious pressure as a result. This tax is about sucking half a billion euro out of the real economy at a time when the real economy is on its knees.

"It is morally unjust and unfair to tax a person's home[.]" Those are not my words but those of the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, not a million years ago. The question I ask of the Taoiseach is what has changed. What of the Labour Party? In 2010, when the prospect of a Labour Party Taoiseach was a possibility, the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, was unambiguous. He said it would be perverse to ask people to pay a property tax on a property on which they were paying a mortgage which was many cases worth more than the value of the property. What has changed? How has something which was morally wrong, unjust, unfair and perverse now become a good idea? I hope those opposite can answer that when they take to their feet later this evening and tomorrow evening.

I also call on Fianna Fáil to support this Bill. More importantly, I call on it to make the commitment, as Sinn Féin has done, that if it is elected to government after the next election, it will scrap this tax. We all know that this is its baby, but has it changed its mind or did it want to avoid the hard part of bringing it in?

There is no doubt that there is tremendous anger across this State and abroad - people have been forced out of this country as a result of austerity policies - at what this Government is doing. That anger will only increase as this tax increases and places an additional burden on them. Sinn Féin is clear on what its legislation is about. This is the legislation we want to introduce in government, but we want the Government to do the right thing. We want it to hear the cries and pleas and know the suffering and pain of ordinary people across the State who are burdened by austerity and who are scrimping and scraping to try to get by. We want the Government to allow this Bill to pass so that we can have this property tax repealed and a proper and fair alternative put in its place.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It has become standard practice in this Dáil that week after week Ministers traipse in here to cry crocodile tears for struggling families across the State. Strangely, it never seems to dawn on those same Ministers or, indeed, their cheerleaders on the backbenches that they are responsible for the hardships families endure. Taxing the family home is a deeply unfair measure. One in four families are experiencing mortgage distress while tens of thousands of young homeowners are now burdened with negative equity, all having paid significant moneys in stamp duty.

Recent ESRI and NESC reports have starkly illustrated the impact of the economic crisis on young families. The ESRI report entitled Younger and Older Households in the Crisis describes the impact of the crash on younger groups as large both by international standards and in a historical comparison. The reports pose the question as to how best to address the disproportionate impact this crisis has had on Ireland's young households. The Government gives its response to these dismal statistics and reports. Its answer is to heap even more debt and stress on struggling households. It is quite mind-boggling that any Government would introduce a tax on the family home in the aftermath of a huge property bubble which, as we all know, burst and left hardship in its wake.

The Labour Party's and Fine Gael's dogged refusal even to include an ability-to-pay clause in the legislation is truly astonishing. They tell us that they know people are suffering and that they are all about reform and all about fairness, yet they refuse to include a standard provision to protect families that simply do not have another euro or another cent to give. They are obviously not listening to the families that no doubt contact their constituency and Dáil offices.

The NESC report also acknowledged that the succession of harsh budgets since 2008 has had the hardest impact on families with children. Some 22% of all households are now without any work. The report states that one quarter of all children are living in jobless households, yet this is the demographic of citizens into whose pockets the Labour Party and Fine Gael are seeking to dip their hands again. Their members should not tell us they do not have any options or choices. They should not point to the troika or to the abysmal administration of Fianna Fáil. Theirs is the Government which balks at the suggestion of modest tax increases for those on very high incomes and at ensuring multinationals meet their tax obligations in full.

The question for families across the State is this: where is the heavy-handed treatment of senior bankers when it comes to their pay and pensions or, for that matter, as the banks hike up interest rates? Where is the heavy-handed approach to retired politicians who enjoy bumper pensions? One can only conclude that the introduction of this type of tax demonstrates an absolute contempt for citizens.

The message from the Government has been "Pay up or else." We see this very clearly in the design of the legislation itself. Never before have I seen such a cynical and heavy-handed approach to force people to cough up a tax even if they simply cannot afford it. The Government has to know that one in four households are experiencing mortgage distress and that 65,000 local authority tenants are unable to meet the cost of their rent, yet its response is "Cough up or else." To its mind, there is not a choice as to whether people can or should meet this tax.

The Government is using the Revenue Commissioners to force families to meet this additional debt, to dip into these people's pockets and to create more hardship by taking moneys directly from bank accounts, social welfare payments and payroll, if necessary. It is Big Brother - the heavy hand of the State. It will not even give some margin to people who it has to know cannot afford this additional tax - people who are out of work and those who are struggling on pensions not of the variety enjoyed by former Taoisigh and senior civil servants. It will not even offer an exemption to those people. Instead, it will offer a deferral of property tax payments for people who have suffered a significant and unexpected financial loss or expense, although we all know that in practice this will not be applicable to many families in real distress. The mean-spiritedness of this legislation is astounding.

The Government decided to plough ahead with this tax and the legislation was rushed through the Dáil. It wanted to minimise debate and maximise pain. Unemployment remains perilously high but the Government has not introduced any meaningful measures to tackle mortgage distress. One third of children in this State live in deprivation. I can only conclude that the Government is somehow cosseted from the harsh realities facing citizens. For so many families, this property tax will simply be a debt too far.

In addition, the tax makes no economic sense. We know the domestic economy remains in distress. Arguably, this measure will only damage the local economy even further. Families will be forced to pay the tax and as a result, basic necessities will be forfeited. Oil will not be bought this winter and a much-needed trip to the doctor or dentist will be put off again.

That will be the achievement of the tax on the family home.

Sinn Féin is opposed to the property tax on the family home. We have made an absolute commitment to axe this unjust tax when we are in government. The legislation we are proposing this evening represents the means by which this tax can be brought to an end. There is an onus on each of the Members of the Dáil who claim to be concerned about struggling families to come in here and vote in support of this legislation. If they care about fairness and really understand the struggles of families, this should be a no-brainer for them. Sinn Féin will continue to campaign against this tax. We know the vast majority of the families and households that have registered for the tax with the Revenue Commissioners in order to be tax-compliant have done so under protest because they are struggling. It is a shame that the Government has introduced this tax, which it must appreciate is deeply unfair and inequitable at a time when so many other options are available.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The hardship endured by masses of people in this State as a result of the economic collapse, which was undoubtedly caused by Fianna Fáil, is being compounded by the ongoing imposition of the failed policy of austerity by the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government. The sharp end of that austerity policy is now being experienced by people the length and breadth of the country. I refer to the so-called property tax, which is really a tax on the family home. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and their respective parties are on the record as opposing this form of blanket tax, which takes no account of ability to pay. They have now left that opposition behind them. It has been discarded in the same dustbin of history where the Labour Party threw its posters proclaiming "Protect Child Benefit - Vote Labour".

The spin from the Government - that this tax on the family home is great for local government - is pure baloney. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, is delivering a double blow to local government and local democracy. He has cut funding for local government. He is pushing ahead with his plan to abolish town councils and drastically cut the number of councillors without restoring any real powers to councils or the communities they represent. People will not know what they have lost until it is gone. There should be no mistake about that. People are being forced to pay this unjust family home tax at the same time as local government services are being cut back.

A prime example of the cruel, senseless and totally counterproductive nature of local government cuts is the slashing of the housing adaptation grant, for which the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is responsible. The overall cut of 40% across the State this year is outrageous. It is even higher than that in some local authorities. Many older people and people with disabilities who own their own homes have been forced to pay the family home tax at the very time they are being told they will not get support from their local authorities to have vital works carried out to make their homes liveable in.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is scandalous.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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For many people, such work is vital to help them stay in their own homes and out of long-term residential care, thereby saving the State enormous sums of public money. Not only do these cuts represent a cruel way to treat vulnerable citizens, but, in addition, they are economic madness. Thousands of small builders and tradespeople found badly needed work when they were called on to carry out grant-aided housing adaptations. The Government is drastically reducing this source of economic activity. Incidentally, this activity freed up further cash in the economy as successful applicants used their own resources, limited though they may have been, to make up the balance of the cost. What public respect will be left for local democracy as a result of the Government's actions? An unjust tax has been imposed and labelled a local property tax just as services provided by local government are being slashed and local government is being disembowelled. Local economies across the State are being further weakened because the expendable income of so many of our people, which was already limited, is being reduced further by means of this family home tax.

I want to be very clear about Sinn Féin's determination on this tax. We want it to be abolished. That is it. Regardless of the outcome of the vote on this legislation tomorrow night, we will continue to campaign for its abolition. The deadline for filing returns has passed, but that does not mean the fight against this tax is over - far from it. People need to continue to show their opposition to this tax to ensure it will be abolished sooner or later and to prevent the Government from increasing it next year or the year after. It has been suggested that the surviving local authority entities might add to it in their own interests in future years. The family home tax demand that people have received relates to the six months from July to December 2013. Next year, they will be asked to pay double what they have had to contribute this year.

The Fine Gael-Labour Party Government is planning to introduce water charges in 2014. That will be another imposition on hard-pressed households while the salaries of super-rich bank bosses and other fat cats are protected. The Minister of State knows in her heart of hearts that there is an alternative. Her political instincts tell her that the alternative is to tax wealth rather than the family home. However, the Minister and her Labour Party colleagues are losing the battle in this coalition. A new top rate of tax for the highest earners would raise €365 million per year. A 1% tax on net wealth over €1 million, excluding business assets, working farms and 20% of family homes and pensions, would raise €800 million per year. Fair taxation, based on ability to pay, is a just demand that was championed by the Minister of State and others on the Labour Party benches over many years. They may have abandoned fair taxation, but we will certainly continue to demand it. Unlike the Labour Party, we will damn well implement it when we are in government.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Maith an fear.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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What about what Sinn Féin is doing in Northern Ireland?

Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The legislation introducing the Government's regressive family home tax was ill thought-out. It should more properly have been called the ''Pretence of improving local democracy by empowering local authorities to raise revenue on behalf of the Government" Bill. Sinn Féin has campaigned against this legislation, just as we did when the household charge was introduced. At a time when one in four mortgage holders are in distress, it makes no economic sense to place a tax on people's homes. Families up and down the country are on the breadline as they try to pay mortgages on homes in negative equity, pay for their children's education and keep their heads above water. If one wants an indication of the distress families are in, one should examine last week's figures showing that 20,000 families were disconnected from electricity and gas supplies in 2012. That is a startling figure. The same families have had the burden of this tax placed on their shoulders.

Has the Government considered how much money this tax will suck out of the local economy? According to the law of economics, the less disposable income people have in their pockets, the less they are able to spend in the real economy. How many jobs in the retail sector could the Government have potentially stunted by implementing this tax? How many small and medium-sized businesses, which depend on local consumers, could be severely hurt by this tax? As we know, the tax will double, at least, next year and the year after. The Government will also introduce water charges and whatever other mean-spirited taxes and cuts it can think of. All of this is being done to pay reckless financial gamblers. The Government has lauded those who have already paid this tax as if they were happy, delighted or anxious to do so. Many of those who have paid have been forced to cut back on other bills and expenses because of it. The Revenue Commissioners are feared and respected. The draconian decision to allow the Revenue Commissioners to raid social welfare payments and pensions was designed to intimidate families and has done so.

Some Deputies on the Government benches will try to accuse Sinn Féin of hypocrisy by arguing that we support a similar system in the Six Counties. Indeed, we heard such a suggestion from the Minister of State just now. Domestic rates in the Six Counties are a very different proposition, however. Rates in the North cover a range of public services including education, emergency services, health, housing, roads, water and sewage. In addition, the Stormont Assembly has inherited a fiscal regime in the North whereby tax-varying powers and fiscal levers are retained by Westminster.

Sinn Féin wants fiscal independence from London. Instead of snide comments from Government spokespersons here, can we please have their support in taking control over our fiscal regime?

The Stormont Assembly has passed a Bill which would allow the business rates system in the North to be restructured, which would mean that smaller businesses would pay less and bigger industry would pay more in light of the current economic climate. In all of the Government's debate about the family home tax, there is nothing about reducing business rates on small local businesses and industry. Does it care so little about maintaining jobs in our local communities?

Sinn Féin is asking all Deputies in the Chamber to support our legislation repealing the family home tax and refunding those who have paid this illicit charge. In the financial hardship that many Government Members' constituents now face, it is the right thing to do. Their constituents are watching.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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When this Government was elected in 2011, it was a massive change in Irish politics. However, the reality is that while a lot changed in terms of faces and names, the politics pretty much stayed the same. It stayed the same for two reasons, namely, because Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are not really all that different, when it comes to policy anyway, but also, despite what Fine Gael and especially Labour had told the people on the campaign trail, the Government parties had already bought into the idea that they would continue with the IMF-ECB bailout and only seek cosmetic changes which could be rammed through and sold as victories.

The result is a Government that only thinks about ordinary low and middle income earning people, unemployed people, people with disabilities and young and old people as an afterthought. While the public have sometimes forced some small row-back on certain issues, the Government has done what it wants and ignored the potential hurt this might cause. It continues that hurt through the pursuit of the family home tax. Sinn Féin has been clear since this tax was floated as an idea. It is the wrong tax, at the wrong time and in the wrong circumstances. It is wrong because it treats the family home as an asset, regardless of the circumstances of the owner and their family. It is certainly likely that the homes of any of the Cabinet could be considered assets. I hope the Minister, Deputy Hogan, has cleared up the issue of fees owed on his Portuguese property as he asks people to stump up for this tax.

Families up and down the State are struggling - struggling to pay bills, to keep the lights on and keep the children clothed and fed. They are struggling to keep the roof over their heads. Now, they have to struggle further to pay this unfair tax. It comes at the wrong time because of the dire financial position of so many homeowners throughout the State, where their homes and their mortgages have become a millstone around their necks, a millstone Fine Gael and Labour want to tax. These people, who in many cases paid huge sums in stamp duty and do not fully own their homes, are asked to shell out for a home which, if they sold it in the morning, would still leave them owing tens if not hundreds of thousands of euro to lenders due to negative equity.

Apart from a notable few like Apple or Bertie Ahern, most are quite willing to pay their way in tax terms. They know that tax is a requirement to provide the vital services they need, and they know they must pay for the good of themselves and wider society. This breaks down when it is considered what people are really paying for these days. People do not see their hard-earned money being used for understaffed hospitals and crumbling roads; instead, they see it going into the coffers of bondholders and NAMA developers. They feel utterly bitter, and they are right to feel this way. It is hard to stomach forking out money which could make their children's lives more comfortable, keep the heating on just a little more this winter or fill the shopping basket a bit more each week, in order to pay for debt they did not run up and should never have had to pay for in the first place. It is particularly hard to stomach when they know that whether they pay it voluntarily or have it taken from them, they will have to pay it.

I would also like to mention the utterly wrong practice of levying this charge on local authority housing. While we oppose the tax in its entirety, it was a new low to discover that local authorities were to be included for this liability. It really puts paid to the idea that this tax is anything to do with funding local services. In many areas, the most important local service provided is housing. Local government has been cut and cut again while housing waiting lists are at an all-time high. Dublin City Council is spending €1.5 million more on RAS a year than it is given by the Government yet this is still not enough as people continue in overcrowded, unsafe, unhealthy and overpriced accommodation, waiting for something to become available from a dwindling public stock.

These people did not party in the boom and they did not go mad. They struggled and hoped that, just maybe, the Celtic tiger might have some impact on the fact their kids go to school sick from the damp on the walls of the tiny rooms they share with their siblings. I will not hold my breath to see how much of the money raised from the home tax goes to fix those problems. I have much more confidence in the likelihood that their rents will be raised to pay for the shortfall in council coffers, which will be considerable.

I want to also mention a number of estates in my own area which have been included for this tax although they were originally exempt as unfinished estates, such as Heathfield, Mayeston, Hampton Wood. It is hard to understand how one estate is exempt, like Priory Hall, while others are not. Previously, they were all included in the exemptions and it is difficult to understand how only one estate in the whole of Dublin is included for exemption in this case.

This is a very unjust tax and it should be abolished. I ask the Minister to reconsider it and ask him and his colleagues to examine their consciences in regard to what they are doing to the people. This is only one stealth tax and it will be followed later by the water tax.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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While the Government parties may congratulate themselves on the numbers who have paid the property tax or household tax, to date, they must also surely be concerned at the remaining high number of people who have not paid the tax. Despite the fact the State has the power to deduct the money from people's bank accounts, wages and other payments, over 10% of householders have still not filed their payment. This indicates that a significant number of people are making a political and, indeed, a moral statement. They are saying to this Government, "You may take this money but you are taking it without my consent." That might appear to be a pointless exercise, and one that will incur further loss, but it is a position deserving of respect. The fact that tens of thousands have refused is their way of saying, as citizens, that they object, just as the majority of people objected to the household charge, which had to be abandoned in the face of mass refusal to pay.

The Government should not delude itself into believing that the majority consented to this. Nor is opposition solely based on people's concerns over having to pay out more money. That is not even a factor among those who have refused to pay as they know it will be taken from them anyway, and perhaps with penalties imposed on top. The vast majority of people do not mind paying tax when they can see that the entire tax is going towards the upkeep of public services and provisions. They do object when they can see that increased demands on their income are accompanied by an actual decline in those services and provisions because they are also the target of the Government's austerity policy.

The claim that increasing the amount of money accruing to the State is all to ensure the upkeep of State services rings hollow in the present circumstances. We have all seen that the consistent direction of this Government has been to make cuts across all areas of public provision. There is hardly a household in the State which has not felt the impact of that, along with the overall economic downturn and exacerbated by austerity. On every Dáil sitting day, there are groups outside drawing attention to the manner in which a vast range of necessary provisions have been undermined. In our constituency offices and on the telephones here, we are daily hearing about the often severe impact which cuts in payments and services across the board are having on people. On top of that, the impact of large scale unemployment has been made worse by sucking billions out of the economy and thereby undermining jobs.

It is in those circumstances that the Government's introduction of this latest assault on household income is regarded. It is deeply resented because people realise that the money collected will not actually contribute to any improvement in the provision of services.

This Bill is our way of saying that the property tax is wrong and is part of an overall assault on Irish society that has been in train since the disastrous decision was made to put the interests of failed gamblers above those of citizens of this State.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Martin Ferris. This tax is extremely unfair. After studying the demands sent out by Revenue, one can see that the banding system is completely wrong. In many instances, elderly people and people who did not follow the matter properly took what was in the demand at its word and paid more tax than they should have paid. Between the household charge, the NPPR charge and the property tax, the Government has made a right dog's dinner out of this affair because it has caused confusion and upset and because everything it has done has been unfair and unjust. There were different ways of going about it if the Government got its head together properly. Instead, it went off on a tangent. What government in another state would come up with three different charges in two and a half years to cause confusion and upset?

Revenue came in here and admitted to us that the calculations they were sending out were totally wrong. I cited a house in Kenmare that was sold for €67,500. At the same time, Revenue put those people in band three. Everybody living in that townland believed that if Revenue sent something to them, they were supposed to be right. Those people were put in band three when the last property sold in that location, which was a new three-bedroomed property, made €67,500. If anybody from Revenue had only checked a computer, they could have seen what properties were making in that area and would have realised that the people should have been put in band one. That was representative of what happened the length and breadth of the country. The Government has made a dog's dinner out of this affair and upset many people. It is unjust and unfair and Sinn Féin is right to come in here tonight with this Private Members' motion because what the Government has done is a disgrace. It is incompetent.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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It is unlikely to surprise Members of the House that on behalf of the Government, I am opposing Second Stage of the Finance (Local Property Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 introduced by Deputy Doherty. The introduction of a value-based property tax is part of our obligation under the EU-IMF programme. To remind those in the House who appear to have forgotten, this commitment was entered into by the previous Fianna Fáil Government, although Fianna Fáil has tried to fudge this by claiming it only agreed to a site valuation tax, which was a policy of the Green Party, its former coalition partners.

Given this troika commitment and the Government's determination to fix the national finances in a manner which supports job creation, we have chosen to implement the local property tax. The local property tax allowed us to keep taxes on jobs, such as income tax, unchanged. Recent ESRI research shows that a property tax has the advantage of being six times more job-friendly than taxes on work and income. This Government is determined to do everything in its power to protect and support the creation of jobs. Recent employment figures show unemployment decreasing on an annual basis and unemployment has declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, with the seasonally adjusted figure falling to below 300,000 for the first time since 2010. The Government has put a priority on getting people back to work and the recent figures are positive in this regard.

Actions for the ninth troika review, which were completed by the end of 2012, included the introduction of a value-based property tax for 2013. While the Government has some scope within the programme to use alternative methods to achieve programme targets, the yield anticipated from the local property tax could only have been achieved by implementing measures which would have significantly reduced overall expenditure on vital public services, along with increasing levels of taxation on incomes and spending. Further such measures, if taken, would have come on top of actions already taken which, it is acknowledged, have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of our citizens. The Government did not want to add to the already necessary cuts in public expenditure or to place additional costs on job creation.

The arguments in favour of a property tax go beyond our obligations under the EU-IMF programme. The introduction of a property tax is part of a broader approach to the taxation of property. The aim is to replace some of the revenue from transaction-based taxes, which have proven to be an unstable source of Government revenue, with an annual recurring property tax, which international experience has shown to be a stable source of funding. Historically, the abolition of domestic rates followed by the ending of property taxes on agricultural land was compensated for by the imposition of levies by local authorities on new developments as well as by increases in stamp duties on the property transfers. These revenues were dependent on the value and number of property transactions in the economy. Previous over-reliance on this revenue from transaction-based taxes, such as stamp duty, capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax, led to a significant fall in tax revenue when the number and value of transactions decreased sharply from 2007 onwards. As we have seen, this created huge problems for Ireland's fiscal position.

Ireland was the only country in the OECD that had no recurring property tax and allowed tax relief on rent, on mortgage interest payments, on capital gains by way of principal private residence relief and on capital acquisitions by way of dwelling house relief. This was previously compensated for by way of relatively high rates of stamp duty. Government policy has seen this mix changed through the phased abolition of interest relief, radical reductions on stamp duty rates and the introduction of the local property tax. This is a much more sensible policy mix reflective of what is seen in many other jurisdictions.

This Private Members' Bill is particularly ill-timed given that so much has been achieved to put policy in this area on a much more sustainable footing. I am glad to report that Ireland's economic recovery is continuing with growth forecast at 1.3% in 2013 and just over 2% in 2014. Domestic demand is somewhat stronger than expected. The latest successful auction of the ten-year benchmark bond and strong investor interest is reflective of growing confidence in our fiscal policy and sustained economic recovery. The recent statement from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund on a visit to Dublin following the tenth review of Ireland's economic programme noted that "Ireland's program remains on track, the gradual recovery is continuing and there have been further improvements in market conditions for the sovereign and the banks". Sustaining this fiscal recovery, along with strict implementation of budget measures, is essential to meet the Government's commitment to a 2013 deficit ceiling of 7.5% of GDP and is key to our ultimate economic recovery. The 2012 fiscal target was comfortably met and the budget remained on track in the first quarter of 2013. The local property tax is a key element of long-term fiscal planning in this regard. The Commission statement went on to say that "the key objectives of Ireland's EU-IMF supported program are to address financial sector weaknesses and put Ireland's economy on the path of sustainable growth, sound finances and job creation, while protecting the poor and most vulnerable". I stand over the introduction of the local property tax and I am satisfied that poor and the vulnerable are protected and that this represents a responsible revenue-raising measure which is a tax on assets, not employment, and so will not adversely affect job creation.

It is against this backdrop that the local property tax has been successfully introduced and we can now look forward to a stable source of funding which is fair and progressive with the owners of the most valuable properties paying most. The tax is equitable, has reference to ability to pay, conforms to international norms and will significantly broaden the domestic tax base. I congratulate the Revenue Commissioners on the successful administration of the tax to date. I understand that in excess of 1.55 million local property tax returns have been filed to date.

At the end of May, over €121 million had already been transferred to the Exchequer, which is a significant sum given that payment of the tax is not due until 1 July 2013. Further payments will be collected between July and December 2013 as the various phased and other payment options available to property owners are met. As Members are aware, local authorities and other providers of social housing are not due to pay LPT for 2013 until 1 January 2014.

I will now re-cap some of the significant features of the local property tax. The introduction of the local property tax provides an opportunity for political reform at local government level. The local property tax will provide a stable funding base for local authorities. From 1 January 2015, local authorities will have discretion to vary the rate by 15% above or below the national central rate which is 0.18%, up to €1 million in value and 0.25% on any excess over €1 million. This fact apparently came as a surprise to some Members recently, despite it having been announced in budget 2013. It was again announced when the legislation was published and it has been debated thoroughly in both the Dáil and the Seanad. One would wonder whether some Members come here at all or if they ever listen to debates. Allowing local authorities an element of responsibility for raising local revenue can increase the level of oversight of local authority operations. It will encourage greater efficiency by local authorities on behalf of their electorates. This will reinforce democracy in local government. I am very pleased that Deputy Pearse Doherty tonight committed his party to exercise the option to lower the property tax and to campaign on this basis in the local elections. That is how local democracy should operate. If people want more services they can propose increases in tax and if people think it can be run on a tighter basis they should propose reductions in tax. We welcome Deputy Doherty's initiative and we hope that local councils that can afford it will use their discretion to reduce the property tax.

I will turn now to the issue of ability to pay. For individuals on low incomes, the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, as amended, provides for the possibility of deferring the charge to local property tax in certain cases. To qualify for a deferral, the residential property must be occupied as a sole or main residence. The income thresholds for a full deferral will be €15,000 for a single person and €25,000 for a couple, whether married persons, civil partners or cohabitants. An increased income threshold applies in the case of properties occupied as a sole or main residence and subject to a mortgage. In such cases, the gross income thresholds may be increased by 80% of the mortgage interest payments. A deferral option in qualifying cases in this regard will apply until the end of 2017 and will assist individuals currently in mortgage distress. A deferral of up to 50% of the local property tax liability will be possible where the gross income of the liable person does not exceed €25,000 for a single person or €35,000 for married persons, civil partners or cohabitants. A deferral of 50% of the local property tax liability will also be available where gross income does not exceed the above thresholds of €25,000 single, €35,000 couple, as increased by 80% of the gross mortgage interest payments that a liable person expects to make by the end of the year for which the gross income is being estimated. This mortgage-linked partial deferral will also be available until 31 December 2017. It is interesting to note that of more than 1.5 million returns the percentage seeking deferral is nugatory, at less than 3%. That is a fair indication that the public regard this as a fair tax and that they have an ability to pay it because they did not seek deferral-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will always get a job as a stand-up comedian.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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-----even though the options were available. Some property owners may find themselves unable to pay the local property tax but do not qualify for a deferral under the income conditions. For this reason, the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Act 2013 provided that a person who has entered into an insolvency arrangement under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 may apply for deferral of the local property tax that is due during the period for which the insolvency arrangement is in effect. The 2013 Act also provides that a person who suffers both an unexpected and unavoidable significant financial loss or expense, as a result of which he or she is unable to pay their local property tax without causing financial hardship, may apply for full or partial deferral. Claims for this type of deferral will require full disclosure of the person's financial circumstances, supporting documentation and any other information required by Revenue and following an examination of the information provided, Revenue will determine whether deferral should be granted. The detail of how this type of deferral will operate and the criteria that will be used to determine eligibility will be set out in guidelines due to be published by the Revenue Commissioners shortly.

This Private Members' Bill is all the more difficult to take seriously given that Sinn Féin, the proposers, sit in government in the Northern Ireland Assembly and on local authorities in Northern Ireland. They preside over domestic rates in that jurisdiction which are significantly higher than the rate of local property tax introduced by the Government. As Deputy Doherty should be aware, domestic rates in Northern Ireland are in two parts - the district rate is set by the local council and the regional rate is set by the Assembly. Sinn Féin participates fully in the setting of both rates across Northern Ireland. The average domestic rates bill in Northern Ireland in 2011-12 was almost £790, equivalent to approximately €916, whereas here, available statistics indicate that the average market value of Irish residential properties is in the €150,000 to €200,000 range, with a full year local property tax of €315, just over one third of the average domestic rates bill in Northern Ireland. I ask how can Sinn Féin Deputies, in all seriousness, propose the abolition of a property tax in this Republic at an average of €315 when their colleagues in Northern Ireland are imposing an average property tax of €916-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Free health, free education, free septic tanks, free school books. The Minister does not want to hear.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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You are reverting to one of your worst traditions, of being partitionist and sectarian, you pose as the Republican Party but -----

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Please speak through the Chair, Minister.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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-----your policies prove you to be partitionist because you have one law which you justify in Northern Ireland and you have another law which you deplore in the South; it is the same law.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Through the Chair, please Minister.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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You are hilarious.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Lads, if you ever want to aspire to be over here, would you ever grow up and take these issues seriously?

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The 1.9 million people do not think it is funny.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Through the Chair, please, Minister.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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If you ever want to come across here, would you ever grow up and stop playing the kind of silly games you are playing here tonight?

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Is that what you told Deputy Kenny when he said it was morally unjust or when you told Deputy Gilmore to grow up and stop playing silly games?

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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The Minister's time is up.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Is it? I have some very good lines left but you can read them on the record of the House.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I will try to use some lines which the Minister may have used. The legislation before us tonight is an absolute con-job of the highest order. If Sinn Féin Deputies and councillors up and down the country really believed that this tax should be abolished, then they would have steadfastly refused to pay it. I applaud those Sinn Féin Deputies and councillors who accept that taxes legitimately passed by this House to pay for public services should be paid and have been paid. However, Sinn Féin's record in this House and beyond since this Government took office proves that they have little or no interest in any semblance of constructive opposition. They prefer trading on fear over hope, preferring anarchy over stability if it means they could stick it to the Government, regardless of the damage to Ireland's prospects.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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We keep our word.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In my opinion, Sinn Féin can have their brand of mock patriotism if all it involves is using every tired trick in their play book to tear asunder the hard-won stability in the public finances on which families up and down this country depend. It is amusing to find a common policy platform shared by Sinn Féin and the populist king of Bunga Bunga, Silvio Berlusconi. Both want to scrap property taxes - one in Ireland and one in Italy - and then hand the cash back. These are strange bedfellows indeed.

A party that claims to be of the left getting into bed, literally, with Silvio Berlusconi, poster boy of the right. Bang bang versus bunga bunga.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Like Labour is going in with Fine Gael.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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As a socialist, I support the concept of a tax on property. I always have.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Deputy has started pulling that one - "as a socialist".

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Rates should never have been abolished as they were in 1977 when Fianna Fail bought an election and drove the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Little did we know that 30 years later it would finally accomplish the trick. Had we had a property tax in place then, we might have tempered the insane property bubble which dragged our economy into ruins. We were the only country in Europe which did not have a property tax.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Why did your leader call it perverse?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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There has always been one in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin happily collects £1,000 sterling on ordinary three-bedroom semis just across the Border from my constituency.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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That is inflation.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Of course, Sinn Féin will tell us that a whole range of services are received in return, with exceptions. Free bin collection - I do not think so. In the North there is no automatic entitlement to free school uniforms, buses, or school meals as Sinn Féin would have us believe. While there are grants and exemptions which can be applied for by social welfare recipients, the rates are far lower than ours and there are no back-to-school grants. The children's allowance given to families in the North is less than half of what we provide and is quickly taken back in taxes from even middle-income earners. Despite the fact that families in the North receive a rawer deal than down here, Sinn Féin has never sought to have property taxes in Northern Ireland abolished.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is because they do not exist.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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It is amazing. Why is that? Perhaps, it is because in the North, as the Minister pointed out, Sinn Féin is in power. It has to govern and cannot get away with the kind of populist spoofing its members engage in down here. This fact is at the very heart of the monumental con-job the legislation before us represents.

Leaving aside the ludicrous conflicts between Sinn Féin's position North and South of the Border, let us look at its alternative proposals to raise revenue down here. Sinn Féin talks about wealth taxes as an alternative. I agree with wealth taxes, €500 million worth of which Labour implemented last year. While we all accept that there is more to do, it is notable that Sinn Féin's proposed wealth taxes excluded pension pots, family companies, farms and properties worth up to €1 million. It is incredible stuff. In the world in which I live, one does not have to be a fully fledged millionaire with a Rolls Royce under one's backside to be considered better off. Sinn Féin wants to introduce a third rate of income tax, but cannot agree on which figure to pluck out of the air to indicate how much it would raise. On the Sinn Féin website right now, two completely different figures are suggested of €365 million and €410 million, respectively. How can anyone be expected to take Sinn Féin seriously when it does not even attempt to present a coherent alternative?

Sinn Féin has a long history of being wrong on just about everything when it comes to the economy. Notwithstanding that it was wrong about the bank guarantee, for which it voted, and on cure for the bank guarantee, which it voted against, it seeks brazenly to tell us how we should use the €1 billion a year saved through that cure - the promissory note deal. Sinn Féin is now wrong on the property tax. Sinn Féin - ourselves alone - is always wrong. I will not be supporting the Bill.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Surprise, surprise.

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Who wrote that for Deputy Nash?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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As always, I welcome the opportunity to speak in the Chamber. I am particularly glad to speak on the Finance (Local Property Tax Repeal) Bill 2013, which is on the Order Paper in the name of Deputy Pearse Doherty. I commend Sinn Féin on its evolution over the years into a mainstream political party, an evolution that could not have been imagined when I was born in 1978, or, indeed, for much of my life, including my political life. Evolution, however, means discarding old processes, symptoms and habits that are not fit for the modern era. That includes old-style politics. The vitally-needed peace process on this island, worked on tirelessly and peacefully by all parties in the Chamber, has created an environment in which people are willing to listen to Sinn Féin and give it a chance. I have no problem with that and worked very constructively with the party at local authority level for many years.

Protest politics, the politics of populism and being against everything have brought Sinn Féin 17 seats in the Dáil and Seanad and 54 seats on local authorities and, like Robert Redford in the film "The Candidate", many genuine, thinking members of the party are asking themselves "what do we do now?". Their answer is to reach for the magic pen at every opportunity. This is the pen that dreams up all these imaginary figures, jobs, stimulus plans and legislative provisions, which are simply not possible. The politics of protest and courting popularity are tempting and easy. It would be an easy route for anyone to take. As the late Robert Kennedy, assassinated 45 years ago this month, told us, 20% of the people are against everything all of the time. The safe, comfortable and cynical place in politics is to play to that 20% all of the time. It is not honest politics, however, and it does not deliver real results that make a difference in people's lives. It is certainly not leadership. Worse than pandering to the 20% who disagree with everything is the creation of false hope. That is what the party is doing. We had it from Fianna Fáil previously. When it gave people false hope, they ran out and borrowed money based on false pretences, low taxes and thinking they would have high wages for the rest of their lives. Sinn Féin is as bad.

Many good decent workers for their own local communities in Sinn Féin know why the property tax was introduced. They know the historical underfunding and lack of real powers suffered by local government. Sinn Féin has often called by way of council motions and press statements up and down the country for more footpaths, lights, ramps, public parks, street cleaning, local services and better, safer public water. These demands are the battlecries of Sinn Féin councillors and Oireachtas Members up and down the country and they will grow louder over the next 49 weeks or so as we face into the local elections. All parties do it, as will Sinn Féin. Government, national or local, is not a deep bottomless well of money or solutions. Deputy Doherty knows that as an able handler of finance who knows his stuff. It is amazing that he would invent a Bill like this, as if it were possible to wash away the property tax. In efforts to win back our economic sovereignty from the trioka, the country and, more important, the politicians who serve in it should recall better than most the old saying that money does not grow on trees. In presenting this simplistic, cynical and false-hope raising Bill today, Sinn Féin displays its ignorance of or, worse, indifference to the state of the country. Deputy Adams gets great publicity from his stories about his teddy bear, but the Bill proves that all of Sinn Féin's members believe in fairy tales. Their vision for Ireland is one of endless rainbows and crocks of gold. They show their ignorance of the great collective effort required from all parties, public figures and institutions to win back our economic sovereignty, a battle we are slowly but steadily winning. We accept that it is a slow process. There is no quick fix. There is no magic pen, as Sinn Féin must realise.

Sinn Féin does a huge disservice to socialism and the great socialist leaders and thinkers of Ireland's past with its exercise today. What is Sinn Féin doing in the North? In fairness, it is being responsible and taking tough decisions, as it should. Up there, Sinn Féin is closing small schools and collecting council taxes of the order of £1,000 per annum. It is rationalising hospitals and creating regional health structures and centres of excellence. It is rationalising local government and operating in a system where there is a single water agency and water is seen as a precious resource to be valued and not wasted. It gives a totally different impression in the North than it does down here. I will not get into the argument that this is how politics works for some people, but Sinn Fein's unique position, North and South of the Border, in two separate governmental systems, exposes its cynicism on a huge stage. Despite that large stage and increasing public awareness of its differing positions North and South of the Border, it persists in the act. Sinn Féin persists in the charade of offering false hope to vulnerable people who deserve better than to be played with and used.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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I make the historical point about a fundamental mistake which was made not in the last five or six years, but in 1977. The manifesto which led to that year to an overall Fianna Fáil majority is remembered nowadays for the abolition of rates on houses and tax on cars. That is democracy. People have a menu of policies options for which they can vote, but it led in many ways to the destruction of the economy in the late 1970s. On two occasions in the 1980s, Fine Gael and the Labour Party attempted to clean up that economic mess. One could argue reasonably and logically that it was not dealt with until the early 1990s and the rainbow Government which was, in effect, almost the same Administration which has dealt with the current economic catastrophe. It took generations and a number of different Dála to deal with the fundamental economic mistakes made in the 1970s.

In a major way, that led to a narrowing of the tax base. While I will not overburden the debate with statistics, during the Celtic tiger years, from 1995 to 2000 we had export-led GDP. It was a healthy, thriving part of the economy. From 2000 to 2005, it was the property bubble, and anyone who offered a contrary view or warned of the dangers of a property bubble and the reliance on building houses and selling them to one another was accused of talking down the economy. That, along with the banking crisis, has led us to where we are now. At the end of February 2011, the easiest decision for the current Administration was to remain in opposition but the people had spoken clearly. The rate of economic recovery is slow and arduous but it exists. There is political stability in the country, which we did not have, on top of an economic crisis, for many years. In many respects, that led us to being the basket case of Europe. When the last Administration went to Brussels, cap in hand, we know how low our standing was in Europe by the very bad deal the Irish taxpayer got.

Coming out of that, tackling the banking crisis, fixing the economy and tackling the major unemployment problem is the preoccupation of an Administration working night and day to do so. Any political party worth its salt, which puts forward constructive proposals on how to win back economic sovereignty and get the country working in every respect, is worthy of a mention. This is populist politics that will not work. All parties will be known by their policies but the Sinn Féin policy proposed on the bank holiday earlier this year was ill-advised although not populist. This Bill is populist and will not work. It would add to and exacerbate the economic abyss the Government must fix.

Some 80% of the property tax will go to local services. Anyone who wants to see playgrounds, development, public lighting and footpaths must believe in the principle of a local property tax to fund those initiatives. On a house valued at £150,000 in Antrim, the property tax is just under €1,300. A house valued at £75,000 in Coleraine pays just under €600 and a house valued at £100,000 in Strabane pays property tax of €840. Once Sinn Féin proves in the North that abolishing property tax works, I am sure the Government will be favourably disposed to look at the ingenious policy behind the proposal and may even test it here.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance (Local Property Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 sponsored by Sinn Féin. For a matter of such importance as the operation of revenue collection in the State and the funding of local government, the Bill is extraordinarily lacking in detail. The immediate implementation of the legislation, which is presumably what Sinn Féin is calling for, would leave a €250 million black hole in the public finances this year and that must be central to the debate on the Bill. Fianna Fáil will support the Second Stage passage of the Bill so that we can finally have a proper debate on Committee Stage on the local property tax.

When the local property tax legislation was brought forward last December, Fianna Fáil opposed it on five key grounds - the unresolved mortgage arrears crisis, which continues to grow; the inadequate provisions for people with inability to pay the tax; the fact that large numbers of people have no equity in their home or are in serious negative equity; the moribund state of the housing market that shows no sign of recovery, particularly outside Dublin; and the large upfront property taxes that had been paid by many people in the form of stamp duty in the past decade. In the end, we never got to have meaningful debate on the amendments I and other Deputies put forward as the Government, not once but twice, guillotined debate on the local property tax.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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This is a total fraud. Fianna Fáil agreed this with the troika but now it will not vote against this nonsense. Fianna Fáil is running from Sinn Féin.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This was shameful and completely unnecessary. The points we and others raised at the time are every bit as valid today as they were in December and earlier in the year. When we discussed the local property tax in December, I took issue with the contention of the Minister for Finance that the tax was fair and progressive and that the wealthiest would pay the most. It is clear this is not the case as liability for the tax takes no account of ability to pay, with the exception of single people on less than €15,000 and couples on less than €25,000 per year.

I listened to the comments of the Minister hailing the low rate of people who opted for deferral as evidence that people have the money to pay. The people who came in to me were mainly elderly people who qualify for a deferral but they felt so guilty about deferring it and passing it onto the next generation that they felt an onus to pay the tax. I helped many of them to complete their returns, on paper and online.

Houses do not represent a store of wealth for Irish families. In the case of many families, their property is their home and they have no intention of selling. We have to reserve judgment on the latest announcements on the mortgage arrears targets brought forward by the Government and the Central Bank as it is too soon to see the impact of the targets, which begin to kick in at the end of June. The formula put forward in March by the Minister for Finance effectively leaves the banks in the driving seat. The banks got what they wanted without giving anything meaningful in return. The Government pushed through its Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill to make home repossession easier before the banks had been required to demonstrate the willingness and capacity to deal with the mortgage arrears crisis in a tangible way.

The domestic economy is, at best, stuck in neutral. Services exports are doing well, goods exports are contracting in view of the ongoing difficulties in the eurozone and the wider global economy, consumer confidence remains fragile and the 426,900 people on the live register will take no comfort in the Government’s claim that it has achieved 95% of the targets under the Action Plan on Jobs.

I hold to the view the local property tax was not the correct measure to be introduced in 2013. In our budget proposals last December, we set our alternatives to the introduction of the local property tax. Recently, one of the large supermarket chains cited the introduction of the property tax as a key reason consumers are not spending in the shops. When the tax was introduced, I predicted it would have a disproportionately negative impact on the economy and those most vulnerable in society. I believe this has been borne out.

Other measures could have been taken in 2013, including consumption tax measures, restriction of pension tax relief and examining the universal social charge on incomes in excess of €100,000. However the Government chose not to take these ideas on board.

While the public finance targets remain broadly on target, and we welcome this, receipts under some key tax headings are under pressure and must be monitored. The effect of the Sinn Féin Bill, if implemented immediately, is that Ireland would require a mini budget immediately or in July, to be followed by the 2014 budget in mid-October. The Bill requires the €120 million paid by householders to the Revenue Commissioners to be repaid as quickly as possible. It also involves not deducting payments from those who have signed up for the single debit authorisation due on 21 July and the cancellation of debit direct authorisations. That is what the Bill proposes if the House enacts it.

I am not aware of any occasion in the history of the State where, halfway through the year, the State has made an across-the-board tax refund in respect of a particular tax that had been levied lawfully by the Oireachtas. That is not a credible position and it is not a politics I subscribe to, no matter how popular. The correct time to review all taxes, including the local property tax, is on a calendar year basis. The abolition of taxes, the reform of taxes and the introduction of new taxes should be done in the annual budget except in emergency situations. We can all agree that we have had too many emergency fiscal measures, introduced by my party, over the past number of years.

Fianna Fáil will vote tomorrow night to allow the Bill go to Committee Stage in order to shape the type of amendments that should have been discussed at more length.

I dispute the Minister's assertion that we had something akin to a proper debate in this House in December or in the new year. We did not. The Minister sat through those proceedings and knows we only reached section 1. At the time the Minister blamed the Opposition for engaging in Second Stage speeches on Committee Stage, but the reality is that amendments of real substance were tabled but they were not even debated.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is voting for this Bill after all he has said.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Whatever about insisting that it be rushed through in December for implementation in January-----

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is running away from Sinn Féin.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----the fact that the amendment Bill could not be debated in the House in a proper fashion is regrettable.

Like the Government, Sinn Féin and other Opposition groups, Fianna Fáil has already commenced work on our proposals for budget 2014. These will be published in advance of the mid-October budget to be introduced by the Minister.

The timing of the introduction of this Sinn Féin Bill has the hallmarks of a policy motivated by political opportunism and a desire to stem the slide in support for Sinn Féin, as reflected in both the national opinion polls and the recent Meath East by-election. This brings me to the issue of the wealth tax, which has been raised by Deputy Doherty and others tonight. It has been the centrepiece of Sinn Féin's pre-budget submissions for the last two budgets. The party claims it will bring in revenue of approximately €800 million per annum. Sinn Féin launched its proposals last November and said at the time that it was its intention to table a Private Members' motion on the issue at the earliest opportunity. I have not yet seen the details of that.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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The legislation is written and the Deputy knows there is a bar on Opposition legislation that will impose a financial cost on the State.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy McGrath has the floor.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy could have introduced a motion.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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The legislation is there.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputies should address their remarks to the Chair.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My point is that if Sinn Féin was serious and honestly believed in the veracity of the €800 million figure, the full details would be published.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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They are published.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have them with me. They are not published.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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We wrote the legislation.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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They are not published, but I will go through them now because we would love to have a debate on this.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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The only party that can introduce that Bill is the Government.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Doherty, only one speaker has the floor and that is Deputy McGrath.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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If there is €800 million available to be tapped, let us examine it and subject it to independent scrutiny. That would do everybody in the House a great service. Perhaps Deputy Finian McGrath might like to analyse it in detail.

Sinn Féin would have us believe that this magic wealth tax will deal with the black hole at the heart of the public finances. The proposals were published last November and include, for example, a rate of 1% tax on net wealth over €1 million, with working farms, business assets, 20% of the family home and pension pots excluded. I am at a loss to know why those proposals have not been pursued further by the party since last November. I have no doubt that a mechanism could be found within Standing Orders to have a proper debate on the wealth tax proposed by Sinn Féin. Certainly, the sums of money involved are dazzling. Apparently, there is a pot of €800 million per annum to be tapped, if only the Sinn Féin proposed wealth tax was implemented. With the stroke of a pen a huge chunk of our budgetary needs would be met.

Perhaps the reason Sinn Féin has not pursued its wealth tax proposal any further is the fact that it knows its figures are without foundation. In its pre-budget submission, Sinn Féin cites the example of Ciarán. He is an extremely well off individual with a home worth €1.2 million, an after-tax income of €200,000, an investment portfolio of €400,000, a pension pot of €500,000 and cash savings of €75,000.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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He must have been robbing banks.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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He must be a very poor saver if he only has €75,000 saved. The wealth tax proposed by Sinn Féin would impact on Ciarán to the tune of €7,150 per annum. Leaving aside the fact that Sinn Féin appears, or has chosen, not to understand the difference between wealth and income, raising €800 million from a wealth tax such as that would require the equivalent of 155,000 Ciaráns in Ireland if annual income is excluded or 111,000 Ciaráns if annual income is included in the wealth tax calculation. I do not know too many Ciaráns and I very much doubt that there are well over 100,000 of them. I would certainly like to meet them and introduce them to the Revenue Commissioners to see how more tax can be extracted from them within the scope of existing legislation.

I would genuinely welcome a debate on the wealth tax proposal, because that is our analysis of what would be involved if there is €800 million available. To be fair, the Deputy has acknowledged it might not be €800 million. He referred to some comments the Minister made in the past that it could be between €300 million and €500 million. However, even that would make a massive contribution to closing the deficit, so let us have the debate, get the facts and scrutinise the proposal in detail. It would serve the national interest considerably to get to the bottom of that issue. Are there really tens of thousands of people in Ireland who will fall into Sinn Féin's wealth tax net, such that €800 million will be raised? I very much doubt it. A Merrill Lynch report which the party cites estimated that there were more than 18,000 people living in the State with assets of more than $1 million or €778,000. I have reached the inescapable conclusion that the Sinn Féin tax proposals simply do not add up.

It is not just in regard to the money that can be raised from a wealth tax that Sinn Féin has been leading people up the garden path. In 2011, before the introduction of the household charge, a Sinn Féin spokesperson confirmed that at least five of the party's 14 Deputies would not be paying the charge. At the time, the party's spokesperson stated that he would not pay the charge. Those who were considering non-payment were clearly given the impression that Sinn Féin would stand by them and stay the course with them. However, since then Sinn Féin has run away from non-payment. Those who were led to believe that non-payment was a viable option in the long term are faced with the fact that the household charge arrears will be converted into a local property tax for collection by the Revenue Commissioners. An annual interest charge of 8% per annum applies to late payments of the property tax. This will be a massive blow for many families. Sinn Féin and others who were equivocal about whether people should pay the tax must bear some of the responsibility for this.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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That is nonsense.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that Sinn Féin did not advocate that people should not pay the tax, because that is a fact. However, with senior figures in Sinn Féin saying publicly that they intended not to pay the tax, it gave comfort to others of far fewer means not to pay the tax as well. Those people will now have to pay a great deal more money to clear their taxation liabilities-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Your party designed and negotiated it with the troika.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and to get a tax clearance certificate. That is the reality.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Your party put the tax into the troika programme. That is where they were led up the garden path.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Quite simply, it sought to exploit people's difficulties with payment of the tax and, if not directly, certainly by implication, encouraged non-payment by the leadership that all Members of this House are required to show.

We will support the Bill on Second Stage to allow for a proper Committee Stage debate on the property tax. The property tax, in terms of its reform or abolition, must be considered in the context of budget 2014. The Minister has shown his hand. He is refusing to take account of the genuine difficulties people are facing. Deputy Pearse Doherty is correct to point out the serious imposition from 1 January next year due to the doubling of the charge. That is the issue people will have to deal with over the Christmas period. The charge will be doubled. People in the average band 3, of €150,000, paid €157. That will be €315 immediately after Christmas. That will be a major problem for people and the starting point should be to acknowledge that.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' Bill on the property tax or, as I call it, the home tax. This Bill seeks to repeal the local property tax and I thank and commend Deputy Pearse Doherty and Sinn Féin on bringing it forward.

I am the only Deputy from Dublin North-Central who voted against the property tax in the Dáil. The tax was an attack on the family home and on many families who are struggling to survive. There is a worsening crisis in respect of mortgage arrears, with over 100,000 families suffering in that situation. People have seen cuts to their child benefit, respite care grant and PRSI increases. Now the target is the family home. This is not a wealth tax, as some members of the Government have tried to portray it. There are no exemptions for the unemployed, disabled, flood victims or the lower paid.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I put my concerns on record when the amending legislation was going through. These included the issue of people who have paid stamp duty. People will be paying property tax on a debt. The Government did not take account of a person's ability to pay and there is a lack of meaningful local government reform.

I am being asked time and again what one gets for the property tax. Expectations are being heightened, including tonight. The tax will be doubled next year. In 2009, the local government fund accounted for €999 million, at its height. This has reduced by €535 million. When one considers commercial rates, water charges and other charges, one realises that the €500 million that the property tax is estimated to yield in a full year will just replace what has been removed at national level, essentially to pay the interest on a national debt that was not, in the main, of our making. When one considers this in the context of the way that the needs-and-resources model functions in respect of how the money will be distributed at local government level, one realises there will be really serious problems next year. People will be rightly asking what they are receiving for the property tax. There will be nothing visible for what they are paying. The notion that the tax will fund parks, playgrounds and all the other facilities that were mentioned tonight is just a fantasy.