Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The point I am making is that a very strong case can be made about how badly off the country is but that is not true. There are people who are very badly off and there are more people badly off now than ever before but there is a whole generality of people who are paying their way. I am only using what people pay for a television product in their homes as an example and this measure is an awful lot less. Many people will pay less in property tax than they will pay for a television licence. The charges are quite modest and they will be spread across 1.9 million household units and that allows us to keep the rates down. Some 90% of houses in this country, according to the Revenue Commissioners, are valued at ¤300,000 or less. There are real issues but we should not exaggerate the position by speaking in generalities.