Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty TD has accused Fine Gael of “letting the mask slip” in what he claims is an attempt to shield the wealthiest in society from paying their fair share of tax.
The Donegal Deputy’s comments come after Culture Minister Josepha Madigan said she wants to lower property tax for people living in affluent areas.
Minister Madigan told Independent.ie she is hoping that the Local Property Tax review will lower rates for people in areas with the highest house prices, such as her own south Dublin constituency.
However, Pearse Doherty TD has criticised her plan as “hijacking the reform of Property Tax to demand a tax cut for the wealthiest.”
The Donegal TD said; “Fine Gael need to drop the pretence that they care about anybody but their own wealthy constituents. Minister Josepha Madigan’s comments today show the mask is certainly starting to slip in this regard.
“Fine Gael have kicked and kicked the can down the road on Local Property Tax reform and now we see senior Ministers calling for the fairest element of the tax to be neutered.
“Simply reducing LPT on higher value homes alongside Fine Gael’s tax cutting agenda will lead to greater inequality.
“The LPT should be abolished giving families a break while the wider tax system must be reformed along the lines advocated by Sinn Féin so that fairness and sustainability are enshrined in the system.”
Deputy Doherty has claimed that the Minister and her government ‘have their priorities all wrong’.
He said: “We are in a situation where 10,000 people are homeless, thousands are on hospital waiting lists and struggling families are being turfed out of their homes day and daily.
“The last thing this government should be focussed on is giving a free pass to the wealthiest people in the country.
“We need action on housing and we need to deal with the rising cost of living which is crippling working people and the least well off in society. Minister Madigan’s overture to her wealthy constituents in south Dublin shows where the priorities of this government lies.”
