Dan Boyle (Green Party)

In completing the Bill, we have undertaken a small but important step towards giving autonomy, independence and more effective use of spending to local government. Hopefully, the recommendations of the Commission on Taxation and the decisions the Government will make through being informed on the White Paper on Local Government will help that process in the coming months.

The House has played its important constitutional role in dealing with a Bill that constitutes a financial charge and, in doing so, helped to inform the definition of what the Bill constitutes. This is a Bill about how we define what constitutes second-owned properties and many of the contributions from all sides of the House have helped that process. I am confident the Minister, in bringing this Bill through the other House, and subsequently back to this House, will have taken note and will make this Bill stronger as a result of all the contributions we have heard during all the Stages of the legislation.