Will the Minister not accept a situation that historically shows that NATO were given negotiating rights on behalf of local authority tenants nationwide in 1973 by the former Labour Party Minister, Deputy Tully, in that the then National Coalition in relation to the review of local authority rents and the Minister himself in June 1981 reconfirmed that if elected the Fine Gael Party would in Government stand by that commitment to NATO? Will the Minister accept also that his decision of 14 August or, as he nicely put it in his reply, the Government's decision of 14 August, has been a reneging on the previous commitments?

We are now on priority question time and supplementary questions on Question No. 40 are confined to Deputy Burke.

There were consultations with NATO regarding their views in connection with the tenant purchased schemes and rents schemes generally. As a result of those negotiations and having had the opportunity to have full consideration given to their views, the decision was then made in relation to the tenant purchase scheme and the new element in it in relation to market price. I thank the Deputy for his remarks on that. The decision was taken some time later to return to the local authorities the right to decide on the most appropriate rent scheme for their areas.

I should make the point that in the general circular sent out to local authorities certain stipulations were laid down such as that rent must be income related and a smaller proportion of income would be deducted from low income households, that allowance should be made for dependant children and that special provisions be made for hardship cases. Of course, it is totally open to the organisation, and it would be appropriate for them, to have discussions with individual local authorities where their organisation is represented and where they have particular views to express. More and more we hear at other times of the importance of giving to local authorities the greatest amount of discretion over their own spending and revenue collecting functions. The decision taken by Government in this respect was entirely consistent with that.

Is the Minister aware that the original intention of the 1973 decision was to remove the anomalies regarding one local rent being paid in one area for similar circumstances, similar type housing, similar family circumstances, income, etc? Will he not accept that he is returning to this anomalous situation whereby in the town of Lucan, for example, one local authority rent will apply and people in similar circumstances in the town of Leixlip which is just up the road in another county will have a different rent to pay? Surely it is in the national interest and fair play that there be a uniform rental policy which was the whole theory behind the decision.

That applies in many aspects. To say that there should be a national standardisation in relation to everything would seem to suggest that there is no need for individual local authorities and that all provisions would be operated on a national basis. I am quite sure that that is not what the Deputy has in mind. For example, he will be aware that the rate struck from one county to another varies and can vary quite considerably, so that ratepayers in what they would consider to be the same circumstances in two adjacent towns but in different local authority areas will be paying a different amount of rates. The service charges being imposed by local authorities in pursuit of increasing their revenue also vary as between different local authorities. Indeed, one of the consistent claims of local authorities is that they should be given more discretion to be able to decide on the appropriate level of local income commensurate with their demands and responsibilities. That is what this decision is doing.

Could I ask——

No, Deputy, we are in priority time. The Deputy will appreciate that supplementary questions are confined to the Deputy who asked the question.

We will have a further opportunity to discuss this question in the Dáil. Is the Minister aware that there is now a rent strike in operation in many of the local authorities because of his decision? In view of that, would he be prepared even at this late stage to reconsider the situation, go to his Government colleagues and ask them to reconsider it?

I have outlined the situation and the decision which was taken by the Government and which is being implemented, I understand, by local authorities across the country.