The Bill for the Government's so-called property tax - in reality the home tax it plans to inflict on hundreds of thousands of ordinary struggling householders - is having its final Stages rammed through this House with yet another guillotine this evening. Just as the Government imposed a guillotine in the debate before Christmas, it is doing so again to foreclose proper debate and scrutiny of a Bill that will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of families. The Government that promised us a democratic revolution is cynically shredding and manipulating the democracy of this House and this country to impose the diktats of the troika.

Is this lack of proper debate and scrutiny of the property tax a deliberate attempt on the part of Government to hide some of the most obnoxious features of this Bill, one of which I do not believe most people are yet aware of? Section 1 provides that the value of lands and gardens over and above one acre will not be liable to the property charge, which is incredible. This means the sprawling estates and large gardens, which would significantly boost the value of properties owned by multi millionaires-----

Where is Deputy Bannon?

-----will not be assessed for the purpose of the property tax while the small garden or back yard of a semi-detached house, owned by an ordinary citizen-----

Or in gated communities.

-----will be liable for the purposes of the property tax. Is this not proof that yet again, when it comes to the property tax, the super-wealthy are being protected-----

Landed gentry.

-----and the burden of this crippling austerity measure will be imposed on ordinary low and middle income families who are struggling to pay their bills? How can the Taoiseach justify this?

Hear, hear.

Landed gentry.

This is not a land tax.

It is a home tax.

Deputy Boyd Barrett was not a Member of the House at the time the land tax was being proposed.

This is an immoral home tax.

This is a property tax. It is a self-determining valuation system.

It is immoral.

The Taoiseach said previously it was immoral.

If Deputy Boyd Barrett believes a bit of ground around a house is a sprawling estate, he needs to move out of his constituency and take a look at the country. The Deputy should travel the country. I think, although I am not too sure, I saw some of Deputy Boyd Barrett's supporters in Letterkenny yesterday. They were making a loud cacophony of noise about property and other issues.

They were supporters of Deputy Pringle.

In any event, this is a property tax based on the value of the house. The valuation is set by the owner of the House who is liable for the property tax.

What about front gardens?

The Revenue Commissioners will set out its communications process next week in the initial correspondence to those deemed to be the owners of the properties. Approximately 65% of the revenue derived from the property tax, which will be on a half-yearly basis this year, will be retained by local authorities for the provision of services to people in their respective areas.

It has been spent already.

I hope I have answered Deputy Boyd Barrett's question. It is not a land tax, it is a property tax based on the house, the valuation of which is determined by the owner.

My back garden will be taken into account.

We need sufficient time for proper scrutiny of amendments and the Bill.

The Government offered two additional hours last Friday but the Opposition did not take it.

The Taoiseach has glossed over an important fact. The Government could easily have amended the legislation to provide that agricultural land being worked on for commercial purposes would be treated in a different manner. The effect of the Bill as drafted is that the value of sprawling estates owned by the super-wealthy in this country, and not used for agricultural purposes, will not be taken into account for the purposes of assessment of liability of the property tax while the small garden, back yard or, as mentioned by the Taoiseach, bit of ground owned by ordinary citizens will be. This means ordinary low and middle income people, whether in the city or countryside, will be hammered with this tax-----

Can we have a supplementary question please?

-----while sprawling estates of 100 acres, owned by the super-wealthy-----

What about stables?

What is the Deputy's question?

-----will not be assessed for the purposes of this property tax, proving yet again that this Government is protecting the rich.

What is the Deputy's question?

He wants a land tax introduced.

Is it not the case that the reason the Government wants to ram through this Bill, and why it imposed guillotines on the debate on it before and after Christmas is that it does not want people to know the truth, namely, that it is protecting its multi-millionaire friends and the super-wealthy and yet again imposing the burden on families that have already been battered with austerity measures?

Hear, hear.

I am interested in hearing where the Deputy got his information about big gardens and sprawling estates.

Section 1 of the Bill. The Taoiseach should read the legislation.

The Deputy must have heard about them through his private school education.

How dare you.

Where did the Taoiseach go to school?

The Deputy spoke about gardens being used for commercial purposes. I do not know if he has a garden where he plants a few cabbages or potatoes for sale at the local market on Saturday mornings.

The Taoiseach should not be glib about this.

However, the Deputy is entitled, given Ireland is a country in which there is plenty of land, to have the space to stand outside his house and look back at it to see if it has been painted properly.

I am speaking of land which is over one acre.

What is being introduced is a property tax on the house. If the Deputy is proposing a tax on every square centimetre of land in the county, it is not appropriate to do so now.

When the Taoiseach next stands outside houses, he will be looking for votes rather than looking at paint.

Quiet, please.

This is a house property tax, the valuation of which is determined by the owner in accordance with estimates submitted by the Revenue Commissioners based on localities.

It does not include the land.

Settle down and listen to the Taoiseach's reply, please.

This is not a case of confining everybody to the four walls of the house, as Deputy Mattie McGrath knows-----

The land must be included when valuing the house.

-----rather it is a case of allowing a small space around a house, where appropriate. The valuation is on the house as determined by the owner. This is a house property tax, not a land tax. I hope the Deputy understands.