Labour TD Robert Dowds has criticised Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin for his party's opposition to a property tax, labelling it as "brazen populism".
According to the Dublin Mid West TD, the stance taken by Micheál Martin comes in spite of the fact that it was the Fianna Fáil government, of which he was a member, that signed off on the EU-IMF bailout which committed the state to introducing a property tax in the first place.
"Micheál Martin and the rest of Fianna Fáil have some neck to come out against the property tax which they themselves signed the country up for as part of the bailout. What makes it even worse is that this tax has the potential to completely overhaul how local government works in Ireland and to help put an end to the 'cowboy culture' of dodgy land rezoning which was so closely associated with Fianna Fáil,” said Deputy Dowds.
"The new property tax will provide a stable source of income for local authorities which they have been crying out for since Fianna Fáil abolished rates in 1978. Property taxes are also very fair taxes as they are generally skewed so that the wealthiest people pay the most and the poorest pay the least.
“I know that this tax, like all taxes, will not be popular, but the fact that Fianna Fáil are now opposing what they signed us up for shows an incredible brass neck.
"To be perfectly honest, I think the Irish people are not going to be fooled by this stunt. Everyone knows that Fianna Fáil's awful mismanagement of the country is what has left us all with this mountain to climb. Considering the standards of Fianna Fáil, I wouldn't expect anything else."
