Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is replacing grants that used to be available. With regard to where I live, where I used to be a member of the local authority, I talk about €850, not 85 charges, because the average property tax there is €655 before any adjustment. As I stated, almost 60% of houses are worth more than €300,000. That is before we go near those valued at €1 million. It does not make people wealthy. As Senator Craughwell outlined, a property value goes up and down. One's house is where one lives and one is not in a position to realise its value, move off somewhere else and try to hold down a job in the area where one is living. Equally, for people on fixed incomes, pensions etc., it is difficult. I accept there are deferral mechanisms in a very small number of cases.

There is probably more in the motion that the Minister of State has agreed with than he has disagreed with. He found the percentage associated with Irish Water. That is fair enough. If that is the only reason he is not supporting the motion, I will take the line out. I appeal to Fine Gael not to press the amendment, which effectively fillets and eliminates the entire motion, which we have spent the last hour and 34 minutes or so debating.

With regard to the property tax, €50 out of €850 is the benefit to householders in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. It is a tiny percentage. There is no point in Members shaking their heads because €600 replaces grants that used to be available. These are figures from the director of finance in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. We have debated them many times. We are better off by €50 out of a charge of €850. The other moneys are moneys we used to get anyway, and we do not get them anymore. Those are the figures from the head of finance; they are not my figures. We debated them for many years. I was a member of the local authority in 2014, 2015 and 2016.