Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking to the section. I am speaking to it far more directly because I am speaking about financial emergency measures. The financial emergency measures, both at an EU level and in this section of the Bill, require us to be responsible. It is not responsible that we do not have stamp duty for investment funds if they are leasing back, which is notoriously bad value. According to the Business Post, it will cost €1 billion for 2,400 leased properties. We reward them for leasing. It is not a matter of them having these properties and us encouraging them to lease the properties to local authorities. Local authorities are competing with investment firms for the purchase of these estates. That is what happened in Kildare and what we have seen. They are competing and we are weakening the hands of local authorities in that regard.