Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. The issue of property tax is an emotive one at such a difficult time in the economy, but there are many myths and rumours about. One that keeps being trotted out by certain people is that we pay stamp duty but no one else in Europe does.

In all of Europe people pay stamp duty or transaction tax on their properties. I have researched the matter and discovered that the sum can range from 10% to 13% when it comes to notary fees and transaction taxes. The public are being misled by comments that because stamp duty is paid in Ireland and not in any other county in Europe, there should be no property tax. Those in Europe do pay. Perhaps people should read more about the subject rather than discussing it over a pint somewhere and suggesting the claim as a good argument to put forward. We have not really examined what happens in Europe but I know those fees are paid in Europe and there is proof.

Like most people, I have a mortgage, but 40% of the population do not. Some of them may not be well off, but some are quite well off. If we exempt too many people, the tax will not be spread evenly. As many as 40% of people do not have a mortgage. Most of these could pay the property tax. We must spread the burden.

When I was a member of Donegal County Council I proposed a second home tax in 2001. I am not sure whether Senator Ó Domhnaill was there at the time. My proposal was unanimously agreed by all the county council members. At the time the then Government refused to adopt the measure because it was not feasible to collect a second home tax. Subsequently, it changed its mind and the property tax was introduced. If one travels to Donegal to stay in a second home in order to enjoy its beaches, roads and services, then one can well afford it. A person who buys a second home in Donegal should pay for the privilege. I do not want to pay my rates and tax in Donegal in order to provide services for people who will pay their property tax to Her Majesty's Government but refuse to do the same for the Government in the South. Donegal County Council was struggling to maintain services. The same people still live in their second homes. They can afford to travel first class to America and get bailed out by millionaires in order to improve their health, yet they refuse to pay ¤100 to Donegal County Council.

I know people in Donegal who are not well off but still pay their property tax because they feel it is their duty to do so. They want to keep Donegal clean and have its roads maintained and its beaches cleaned. There was a bit of local resentment in Donegal because people felt that the British came over and the landlords were buying our property and developing and joining up farms because they had the money. Those people are not doing so now. There are still certain individuals who refuse to pay ¤100 to maintain the lovely county of Donegal. There are many beautiful counties in Ireland, such as Cork and Mayo, but Donegal is probably the most beautiful. I do not think anybody will contradict my claim, especially Senator Ó Domhnaill.

One is either for or against a property tax; it does not matter if it is ¤8 or ¤800 per year. The stance adopted by the Sinn Féin Party in Lifford is for no property tax, and Senator Reilly can state her own case. If one crosses the bridge in the town one enters Strabane, where the same party has recommended an increase in property tax. My friends and relations live in Strabane and they pay £100 per month while their cousins in Lifford pay ¤100 per year, but they all state that there is no great difference in services. The people I know who live in Strabane have a bin collection service but they may only put a bin out once a month or every two months. Basically, they are pensioners, so the services they receive in Strabane are not much different from the services delivered in Lifford, where there is no property tax at the minute.

Deputy Pearse Doherty claimed on his local website that his party would abolish property tax, but I do not know if he was referring to Northern Ireland or Donegal. What if he crosses the bridge into Strabane? He will have to put an asterisk at the top of his website stating that his policy applies to UK viewers only and put another asterisk at the bottom stating what applies to people in Donegal. If his party wishes to abolish property tax then it should do the same in Northern Ireland. In the North there are no exemptions and every person who occupies a house must pay a property tax. The argument is that this is David Cameron's law, but it is not, and people should admit that. The tax is divided into a district tax and a regional tax, and the district tax is set by local councils. The Sinn Féin Party is in the majority on these councils in most Nationalist parts of Northern Ireland, yet the property tax keeps being increased. If it is good enough that people are exempted in the South, such as people with disabilities, then it is good enough for Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin should not mislead the people of Donegal by stating that it wants to abolish the property tax. I am sure that if Sinn Féin got its hands on the property tax for Donegal and the rest of the country, it would be a different animal altogether. It would not be ¤100 per year or ¤90 per year.