Arthur Spring T.D, for Kerry North-West Limerick, and member of the Oireachtas Finance Committee, says that exemptions from the property tax should be considered for people in financial difficulty.

He said: "I am concerned for people, particularly young families in difficulty with repaying their mortgages, exemptions from the property tax should be considered for these families.

"Many of my generation who purchased their family home in the last decade paid a high level of stamp duty due to property prices. Many of these same people are now in mortgage arrears, in negative equity, and are paying an excessive amount of their net income towards repaying debt.

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"The Government is committed to helping mortgage holders, changes in last year's budget which increased Mortgage Interest Relief to 30% for those who purchased their home between 2004 and 2008, the Personal Insolvency Bill, as well as the recent arrangement of free independent financial advice for struggling homeowners, are all examples of this.

"However every effort must be made to protect these people from being burdened with excessive levels of property tax. We must look at the possibility of exemptions and deferrals, looking at what has been done in other European countries.

"Exemptions have already been suggested for people who paid large amounts of stamp duty during the Celtic Tiger. Exemptions and deferrals should also be looked at for people in severe negative equity and those repaying large amounts of mortgage debt."

(CD)