Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not even talk in hundreds, I will talk in thousands, because the average bill in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown when it was first estimated was €686. A total of 4% of houses in Westmeath are valued at more than €200,000 but I do not think 4% of houses in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown are worth less than €200,000, and that generally means not that people are rich but that they have much bigger mortgages and far more debt. We saw figures yesterday showing that 55% of people's income in Dublin is going on rent or mortgages. The cost per head is much higher but it does not mean that everyone living in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is necessarily wealthy. The 15% discount on the property charge of €1,000 brings it back to €850. Of that €850, the sum of €200, which is 20% of the original figure, goes to the equalisation fund to fund the 19 of the 31 local authorities that get money from the equalisation charge. The amount of €600 replaces grants that used to exist so-----