Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I expect it will be affordable, in line with what the Minister has said. Do we expect it to double or treble? That is not the expectation. Will it increase? I do not know but I have seen very few taxes decrease. They normally increase. The appropriate thing to do with taxation is to increase it in a careful incremental way by small amounts initially and that is how one increases the tax base. We are facing an uncertain period and we do not know what will happen with Brexit. We are facing a period of potential trade wars between the EU and the US, which have been and still are very closely associated trading partners.We are in a period of uncertainly, however. We could chip away these bases and both Houses could eliminate the local property tax. The Government does not have the voting power to block that but it would be irresponsible. One should not forget it has been a tough decade. If people want to do again what we did, it would be an error. I remember the period 2002 to 2007. If all of us had known what was coming after that, we would not have done what was done in either House. We should not consider it now. We do not know what is around the corner. We are being very careful and prudent, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will be prudent in making the next steps regarding revenue and expenditure. We have a balanced budget, which has taken a long time to achieve, but we must be careful and must not be reckless.