David Norris (Independent)

I am very pleased that my Sinn Féin colleagues have taken this sophisticated approach to the issue. They will be more successful in so doing and I will certainly support them strongly. I would be honoured to have my name added to their revised amendment.

The Minister of State has been clear and honest with us in his responses. A hint of what is at issue here was given by an earlier speaker who referred to the imminent examination of building ratings. What we are facing now, no matter what pretence is made about it - there has been very little pretence, in fairness - is the reintroduction of rates. This is the preparatory move in that regard. There have been many arguments about that, with many authorities being of the view that it is justifiable. That is what we are moving towards; I have absolutely no doubt about it. The Minister of State appears to me to be nodding, although it is perhaps unfair to put that on the record. I expect he will be open in acknowledging that we are moving towards the introduction of rates and that this charge is part of the process.

I welcome the Minister of State's indication, and it is important that the principle be maintained, that any moneys derived from this tax, which will certainly go through, because the Government has the numbers, will be ring-fenced solely for the provision of local authority services. This is very important. I will not deal in any great length with the other arguments but there are other methods of raising substantially more money with a lot less pain and one of them would be to put, at least, a temporary block on automatic increments in the public service. I am not a person who is naturally antagonistic towards the public service but it seems to me this could provide a lot more money with a lot less pain. I hope the Government will take this suggestion into consideration.