Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk about the local property tax. In the media today, both in broadcast and in print, there has been much discussion about the Government's expected announcement today to defer the local property tax for another 12 months. That is clearly a political decision with political consequences but it defers the real issue that we need to debate in both Houses, namely, how we will fund local government in a reasonable, fair and sustainable way. It is unacceptable that blocks of people are crippled with the property tax without the capacity to pay, and one of the flaws which everyone agrees on across the Houses, is that the system is unfair and that needs to be put right. I am advised that there is a report on the desk of the Minister for Finance since November on this local property tax. It is disappointing that this report has not been fully published but let us not pre-empt the whole day yet and see what comes out of the decision of the Government.

I am calling for a debate in this House because realistically, we need to have a full, fair and comprehensive debate on how we will fund local government and services. Members will remember the great fanfare at the launch of the local property tax. We were told this was an additional source of funding, not a substitute source of funding for the central funding of local government. It was marketed on television, radio and leaflets as bringing new community facilities, new swimming pools, new parks and new public amenities and that has not happened. Chief executives of the 41 local authorities will tell us that the reality was that the central government allocation was dropped and substituted by the take of the local property tax and there is an unfair balance across the country. I am not suggesting for one moment that local authorities that are weaker and do not have the revenue resources should be crippled either. They need to be supported by central government but for those who collect and have money, it should be kept locally and spent locally and decisions about that local funding should be made by councillors. I am calling for a debate on the local property tax.

I would like to be associated with my colleague, Senator Leyden, in expressing sympathy for Councillor Michael Fahy. I knew him well, as everyone did here, including the Cathaoirleach who knew him very well. He always spoke very highly and fondly of the Cathaoirleach and of the Cathaoirleach's support for him. He was a character to say the least and local government had many characters. We will never see his like again. We will never see men and women who served for 30 and 40 years in local government because they cannot do it and they do not have the support to do it. That also feeds into this issue of local government reform and support for councillors and people who wish to carry out that noble and honourable profession of being a public representative in a local council.