McGrath opinion shows ‘defection’ to Sinn Féin

I read with interest a very coherent and common sense opinion piece in today’s Irish Examiner about the madness of, and an alternative to, the government’s proposed property tax.

At first glance, I was sure it must have come from the pen of one of my party colleagues, Jonathan O’Brien perhaps, or Pearse Doherty or maybe Mary Lou McDonald. But then as I read on some more I realised it was from none other than Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath. Had Michael suddenly seen the light and was he about to defect over to us? How could this Fianna Fáil TD now be advocating what Sinn Féin had been calling for years, where the idea of a property tax should be replaced by a wealth tax — only for us to be sneered at by his colleagues and called economic illiterates?

Is this the same Fianna Fáil party that drew up plans for a property tax, that tried to take medical cards from pensioners, gave us the universal social charge, and had they managed to remain in office for another term, would have introduced the household charge with gusto?

I suspect the people he is trying to address are far more interested in Fianna Fáil’s actions rather than words, and the proof will be in the eating of the pudding in December when they will either support another unfair austerity budget, or they can reject it and side with the Irish people and Sinn Féin.

Cllr Kieran McCarthy

Lower Midleton Street

Cobh