Property tax debacle linked to bailout

MINISTER Phil Hogan claims that the €100 property tax is to fund local councils.

It will pay for lighting, roads, water, refuse collection and other local council services, he claimed.

Hang on a minute. In Cork at least, refuse is no longer collected by any council — it has all been privatised. As for roads, I thought this was the purpose of having motor tax. And water? I clearly remember the minister saying there will be water charges to pay for the water we use, and I have little doubt this service too will be privatised once we ourselves have paid to have it installed through charges and taxes.

Is the property tax even being ring-fenced for local government? Not that I’m aware, and it is not a coincidence all of this occurs just when we are faced with paying back the IMF/ECB bailout. A bailout brought about because a buffoon of a former Taoiseach abandoned the sinking ship having sunk the economy; while his equally clownish successor promised to cover all the banks’ bad debts without even having the correct sums in front of him. Now our current Taoiseach is already reneging on election promise after election promise. And we have a foolish population who puts up with all of this while allowing itself to be distracted by a nonsensical controversy over a race for a political office that hardly matters anymore now that our political overlords have played “surrender and regrant” to their European and IMF masters.

Our grandfathers gave up their lives to fight for this country’s hard-won independence, it looks like our children and grandchildren will have to fight for us.

Nick Folley

Carrigaline

Co Cork