The Government introduced a property tax without any provision for an ability to pay clause for the more than 90,000 people in mortgage arrears of more than 90 days, pensioners and the unemployed, who do not have the capacity to pay. Notwithstanding the legislation, the Government then decided to retain 80% of the revenue that was meant to go to local authorities to pay for the establishment of Irish Water over the last 12 months. Provision was made in the legislation to reduce or increase the property tax by 15% at local level. This is despite the fact that at the beginning of this year the property tax was doubled. It was an extraordinarily cynical move to double the tax and then have the Tánaiste commit the Labour Party to reducing it by 15% in 2015. We have now learned there is a significant split in the Cabinet on this issue. Government sources have stated that Fine Gael wants to charge local authorities more and when they get revenue from the property tax in 2015 they will be required to use it to pay for services and other public expenditure that central government will refuse to fund. In other words, people in urban areas who are paying higher rates of property tax will have to pay more for services that are devolved from central government. The source stated that Fine Gael, "are using the excuse of the property tax to reduce other grants. Their whole point is if the councils have it, the money should go back to the central exchequer, not the householder ... This is a sleight of hand to cut funding by the back door". Clearly that source must be a Labour Party Minister or member. This was confirmed on "Morning Ireland" this morning by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

We are over time. I ask the Deputy to put his question.

The Minister indicated that he supports the position of the Labour Party. Can the Taoiseach clarify whether the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will set out or publish regulations on reducing the property tax by 15%? Does the Government not agree that the honest and simple way out of this mess is to agree at national level that the property tax should be reduced by 15% to provide for a uniform system across the country, without impairing or damaging the capacity of cash-starved local authorities to fund existing services without having to pay more?

The Labour Party thinks it is still in opposition.

I am interested in the Deputy's remark about the primacy of Parliament. He certainly abdicated his responsibility in that regard on a number of occasions over the years.

The Taoiseach was going to change it.

Tell us how you changed it.

I am interested in Deputy Martin's new-found interest in a property tax, which he does not want now but on which he had a proposition to make it heavier than is currently the case.

The Taoiseach described that as immoral.

The introduction of a property charge is part of the process of developing a system that is as fair and equitable as possible for people to contribute to the provision of services and the running of our country. Increasing income tax as an alternative to a fair property charge would have a very negative impact on the economy, jobs and the general situation. The ESRI pointed out that the local property tax is six times more jobs friendly on labour than increases in income tax. The bigger picture is that the Government has decided that 80% of the collected local property charges should be retained in the local authority areas and that no council will be worse off than under the previous system. The members of the party that I represent will reduce property charges where it is possible to do so, although clearly that will not be possible in every case.

If we take Deputy Martin's view of having his proposition put in place, we will have a reverse situation whereby valuations of property values are lower in certain parts of the country than in the major cities which are experiencing pressure for houses and consequently an increase in their value. The issue is to work out the details of retention of 80% of local charges in each area, of no council being worse off under this system, starting off, and of the right of councillors to have responsibility devolved to them for making decisions arising from the law to reduce property charges, if that is their decision, to publish their budgets and run their services so that the people in the areas that councillors represent know what services they are getting for the taxes and charges they pay. That is the way transparency and accountability can come across. A number of those details remain to be worked out. I am sorry to see Deputy Martin proceeding on the basis of a gospel belief in what he reads in the newspapers. It is certainly not true.

They were Government sources.

The sources cited in this particular newspaper have been accurate on quite a number of occasions. Let us call a spade a spade. It was a Government source. The Taoiseach failed to answer the question, not for the first time. He is living in a land of unreality because councils are being starved and they were shafted by the Government last year. It promised to give them 80% in 2014 but it gave them nothing. In advance of the local elections, the Tánaiste said the charge would be cut by 15%-----

It did not work.

-----having doubled it a month earlier. The cynicism and dishonesty of that are clear.

There are degrees of cynicism.

Apparently Revenue needs to know by 30 September whether councils will reduce the rate.

Can we have a question?

The Minister has not yet set out the regulations, even though this is provided for in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012. I asked the Taoiseach whether he is going to publish or set out regulations governing the issue of reducing or increasing property tax by 15%. Can we have a bit of honesty on what the Government is going to do? This is not something I am inventing.

Sorry Deputy, we are over time.

It is allegedly a row between the Labour Party and Fine Gael.

They are saying it quite openly, and not just in the newspaper, as the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, confirmed that he supports the position of Labour backbenchers this morning.

The outgoing Minister.

Perhaps he is an outgoing Minister at this stage.

Have you put a question?

Will the Taoiseach answer it? Will the Government intervene and facilitate the reduction across the board of property tax by 15%, as promised by Ministers, via the cental Exchequer allocation method? In other words, the Government can allocate the necessary funding to local authorities to enable them to reduce the tax by 15%. Will those regulations be set by the Minister?

A simple "Yes" or "No" will suffice.

The Deputy has changed his tune in short time. First, he stated it was gospel that there is a serious split in the Cabinet over this and the place was in complete disarray.

Tell it to Ruairí Quinn.

It is bandaged up again.

Ask the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn.

He now uses the word "allegedly". Something has struck him in that respect. The law of the land is that the councillors are the elected representatives of the people. The Deputy's party refused to give them any responsibility and centralised everything here in Dublin. The law indicates that the elected representatives of the people, whatever shade of opinion they have-----

They were given nothing last year.

They are entitled to reduce the property charges by 15% if they so wish. It is a matter for them to make that decision.

No, it is not.

Yes.

They are governed by how much is given to them.

Deputies, please.

The Government has already decided that 80% of the charges collected will be kept in each local authority area. It is possible in a number of local authorities for councillors to make that decision because of the number of houses and their valuation, leading to the property charges which are collected. There was 94% compliance in 2013, with €291 million collected-----

Answer the question.

There is 91% compliance so far in 2014.

We are over time.

Will the Minister set the regulations?

The details are that no council will be worse off, with 80% of what is collected retained.

Will he publish the regulations?

This is an alternative to increased income taxes and the detail of how it is worked out is still to be decided by the Government. There is no big division, as the Deputy has argued.