Green Party Leader, Eamon Ryan, has called on the Government to honour its commitment to return 80% of Local Property Tax revenues to local authorities.

The measure was meant to be introduced in 2014 but has now been deferred by the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan.

Eamon Ryan said: "Dublin raises 42% of all property tax but is only getting 9.3% of the Local Government Fund in return. In some counties, a person will be getting fifty times the allocation that a Dubliner receives. The Government is reneging on yet another of its promises, and it is clear that Dubliners are the big losers.

-- Advertisement --

"This is not an issue of the capital versus the rest of the country, but rather about implementing fair and effective tax policy. The Government's own report said there is a, Persuasive rationale for an explicit linkage between local government and the proposed tax. That link has now been broken.

"The only excuse that the Government have is that, 'the establishment of Irish Water presents local government with significant organisational and financial challenges in 2014'.

"Blaming Irish Water for the delay only rubs salt in the wound. What makes matters even worse in Dublin is that Irish Water is now planning to introduce a single water charge right across the country, rather than a differentiated price based on local circumstances.

"Dublin businesses are going to face a large increase in their water charges as a result, and small businesses are going to be particularly badly hit. This will be happening at the same time that the councils are being starved of income to improve other local services which might help keep those businesses on the go."

(CD/JP)