The local property tax has been branded a fiasco by Conamara electoral area candidate, Noel Thomas. He says the promised expenditure on local services from money raised by the tax has still not manifested itself.
“I would like to ask the Government what they have done with the money? Where is it? Because it hasn't been reinvested into the roads of Conamara like they promised,” he said.
Thomas said that the people of his electoral area were given assurances in June 2013 that approximately 80 per cent of the tax collected would be invested back into the community and into local services, and that this was primarily why people “reluctantly” accepted and paid the property tax. However, Thomas believes that this is not the case and that the Government should provide some clarity on exactly where the money is being spent.
He concluded by saying: “The reality is that it is going into the exchequer to help to pay for another tax collecting entity that is Irish Water, and we all know how money has been wasted there. One fiasco pays for another, the county council loses out and we end up with substandard services. It's time we started to see the benefits.”
