Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am asking for a debate on the property tax and I am explaining why. These people have injected an element of Dublin versus rural Ireland into the property tax issue, no doubt as a last-ditch effort to save their seats in the face of angry and betrayed constituents, and I find it disgusting. I call on the Deputy Leader to urgently seek a debate in the House on property tax with the Minister responsible for local government. It is Government policy to allow 80% of the tax to remain within the local authority area in which it is collected. While this will be good for Dublin councils, the property tax base in rural Ireland, in places such as in Roscommon, is narrower and there will be a requirement to equalise and support the funds going to these areas to ensure regional equality. I hope there is no rural phobia - I do not what the word is - among these middle-class Labour Party Deputies. We need a debate to ensure there is proper solidarity among the regions of the country.