Some of us were less than impressed last week with the hype with great fanfare around the so-called deal on the promissory notes. Some 100,000 people took to the streets at the weekend who clearly did not believe much had changed for them. This morning Professor Patrick Honohan, the Governor of the Central Bank, reminded us that household financial distress was at extraordinary and unprecedented levels, yet today we understand the Minister for Finance will publish a Finance Bill that will still require hundreds of thousands of families to pay a tax on their family home that they simply cannot afford. There will, I understand, be no exemptions for the unemployed, pensioners, the 160,000 or so people in mortgage distress and workers who have had their incomes savaged such as the fully qualified nurse who as reported in the newspapers today is unable to pay her bills and a pensioner in my constituency who tells me that, despite having an income of just €200 a week, she is facing a bill of €800 a year in property tax when in March the demands drop. Very simply, if the deal on the promissory notes was such a wonderful achievement, as the Taoiseach claims, and, as he also claims, is going to leave us with €1 billion more in 2014 and 2015, can he announce today that, as he now has the money, he will abolish the property tax and not force the unemployed, pensioners, those in mortgage distress and others struggling to pay their bills to pay a tax on their homes that they simply cannot afford? If it was a real deal, the Taoiseach could afford to do this. He should make that commitment and promise and give a little hope and relief to ordinary people.

Even Deputy Finian McGrath is laughing at the Deputy.

Finian will sign up to it.

Since Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett came to the House, he has never been impressed by anything but the quality of the demonstrations he can have on the streets. That is his weekly fix.

It is the only thing that gets results.

The Deputy has had his say. Let us listen to the reply.

The Taoiseach hates to admit it, but it is the only thing that gets results.

On the promissory note agreement with the ECB, nobody on the Government side said it was going to be the end of all our difficulties.

Is it going to be the end of anything?

Everybody said it was a relief on the debt sustainability of the country which would make Ireland more attractive in terms of investment and provide an opportunity for those in lending institutions to access the markets and greater credit for lending to business to create jobs.

It is not going to happen.

Contrary to what the Deputy said and while it was a major and an historic achievement for the country, we never indicated anything other than we still had a long way to go. The property tax legislation passed through the House before Christmas.

In 20 minutes.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett does realise it has passed into law.

The Finance Bill is being published today. Where are the exemptions?

The amendments being produced today by the Minister for Finance will be available to the Deputy at 1.30 p.m. All of the amendments involve concessions in respect of the property tax. The good lady mentioned by the Deputy will be able to defer her property charge based on the income figures mentioned. It is a case of very clear guidelines being laid out. There are changes in respect of social housing, on the issue of charitable organisations owning property and for those hard-pressed householders who purchased homes afflicted by pyrite. These are changes the Minister has recognised need to be made in order to have it as fair as possible. The Deputy is also aware that the vast proportion of the property tax collected will be spent in local areas in providing local services for local people. In that sense, the Bill and the amendments to be made available at 1.30 p.m. today are nothing but exemptions and concessions that the Minister has recognised are necessary.

Therefore, the truth about the deal becomes clear. It is not going to make a whit of difference-----

In the Deputy’s eyes.

-----to the people who are being hammered by cuts and on whom it is now planned to impose a further burden amounting to hundreds of euro a year by way of property charges. I know damn well that the Finance Bill under which this burden is going to be imposed was passed at the end of last year. However, given that the Taoiseach claims that we have saved ourselves billions of euro, why will further exemptions not be announced by the Minister for Finance today to remove from the property tax net pensioners, those on disability allowance, those who have lost their jobs, those whose incomes have been savaged-----

Will the Deputy put his question?

-----such as fully qualified nurses who cannot pay their bills? Why are there no exemptions or relief for them? Is that the truth about the deal made last week and the so-called exemptions being announced today, namely, that there is nothing for the people who are being hammered?

There are exemptions for the Independents.

Give back the leader’s allowance.

Is that the best the Taoiseach can do?

The legislation introducing the property tax has now passed into law. It is an alternative to increases in income tax which would be a tax on jobs, as the Deputy knows and about which he tends to spout on a regular basis in the House.

A tax on homes is unfair and unjust.

As the Deputy knows, the Bill and the amendments to be published at 1.30 p.m. contain quite a number of concessions.

What about houses affected by radon?

There are exemptions for newly constructed but unsold residential properties and they correspond to exemptions from the household charge where ownership is vested in a public body; where a principal private residence is unoccupied by reason of long-term mental or physical infirmity; a mobile home, vehicle or vessels; and property fully subject to commercial rates. The issue of the pyrite-afflicted homes is a concession that I am sure the Deputy welcomes even in the continued misery he puts out here every week.

As the Minister pointed out, there will be a saving to the taxpayer of €1 billion in respect of the promissory note and a requirement to borrow €20 billion less over the next ten years. That has been reflected in some recognition by rating agencies of the status of the country. It has also been reflected in the international assessment of Ireland as being an ideal location in which to invest with job opportunities resulting from that.

I repeat that the vast majority of the property tax being collected will be spent in local areas for local services for local people so they will see where their contributions go. This is not easy. We all know that thousands of people in our country are challenged but the situation this week is better than it was last week because of the agreement to the promissory note deal. If we had not arrived at that position, Deputy Boyd Barrett would be the first person spouting about the €3.1 billion that must be borrowed every March, which was the situation left behind by the party sitting in front of him.