Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The local property tax was supposed to address some of the services, such as road maintenance, lighting and grass cutting. None of that is done, and they are paying on the double. That is how they feel. To their great dismay, none of the basic services promised under the property tax legislation has been delivered on. They feel that they are paying on the double for a service they are not getting. I have mentioned Carrickmore and Woodlands in Lackagh. When one adds their property tax and water charges to their bill, they are paying close to €1,000 per annum. I stress that this figure is at the lower end of charges compared with what others face. In Gleann na Rí, Murrough, Renmore, people pay management charges of €2,068 for a two-bedroom apartment. When one piles the property tax and water charges on top of this, it causes a lot of financial hardship to these families. At the lower end of range - for example, in Lackagh, County Galway - people have reported to me that they have to put aside €20 a week to be able to afford their bills. Others feel very strongly that they have been deceived in that the purpose of paying local property tax was to cover these very same local services. There are families in Lackagh, Turloughmore, who have heard that I was in the area and phoned me when I was on my way home to say they did not get to meet me but they wanted to stress this issue and the hardship that it is causing. On top of this, they are justifiably worried that with the increases in property value they will now face an increase in their property tax bill on the review date. They feel caught and fooled.

To add insult to injury, private estates that have applied to be taken in charge have also been let down, with Galway County Council replying to representatives of many of these local estates that it does not have the funding to take them in charge. At every level, including at Galway County Council, the local property tax has not delivered on its promise. That is why I ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in co-operation with the Minister for Finance, to devise a property tax credit scheme on a sliding-scale basis against the local property tax for those who already pay for management charges for services that were expected to be covered by the local property tax. I believe that it is a very fair and reasonable request. Why should one pay on the double? Why does the local property tax not pay for the services it promised at a local level? If it did, these homeowners would have an argument against their management companies to get credit from the management companies, but they cannot make that argument because they still need the management companies to provide the basic services that were supposed to be provided by the local property tax. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.