I support Senator Murnane O'Connor on the subject of property tax except that she does not go far enough. She should set as an objective getting rid of it altogether for the next election. I tell her the party that puts that down as a goal will form the next Government. This is a disgusting tax.

Hear, hear.

It dates back to the 19th century and is a form of rack-renting whereby unscrupulous landlords used to put up the rent every time an unfortunate tenant had the temerity to improve a property. That is exactly what is happening now. It relates to nothing other than the utter greed of the landlord, in this case the State. I give my own example. I bought a house-----

A mansion.

-----in an area of dereliction in inner city Dublin in 1978 for €25,000. It was in ruins. I did the State's job by restoring it. I spent hundreds of thousands of euro and hundreds of hours to restore the entire street. What is the reward? One is fined for doing it. It is a disgrace. It is back to the 19th century and the Leader should shut up and take notice of it.

I raise also the question of school secretaries. These people are completely neglected.

I heard one of them on the wireless today explaining she was on €12,000.

Does the Senator not realise that there is a functioning system-----

Do I hear somebody tweeting? A bird has got in. Put her out through the skylight.

School secretaries are on €12,000 a year which is absolutely nothing but they love their job. They are an essential and crucial part of a school, organising timetables and payments. However, they are completely and utterly neglected. Bringing them into the public service would cost a maximum of €4 million out of a budget of €10 billion. For goodness sake, can we not do the decent thing and bring these hard-working people in out of the cold? In the summer, they have to go on the dole. Is that not a lovely way to treat our secretaries who keep our schools going? I am appealing to the Government to bring them in. It will only cost €4 million, a sum that would get lost in a hole in one’s tooth.

I am glad to report to Senator Norris that I am a member of the Oireachtas education committee. The school secretaries will give a presentation to the committee this afternoon to which I am looking forward.

I support the call for additional resources for local domestic violence services in counties Cavan and Monaghan. Currently, both counties are served by Tearmann Domestic Abuse Service. I acknowledge the great work it does on behalf of unfortunate individuals who find themselves in need of help in such circumstances. Tusla is in the process of reviewing domestic violence services across the country. Based on information I have received from Tearmann and others, there is a need for a dedicated refuge for people who find themselves in such a difficult and stressful domestic situation. There is also clearly a need for increased resources in this particular area. Last year, for example, the service supported 260 people, mostly women but some men. It is important to remember that this support also involved over 400 children. We all know that domestic violence and marriage breakdown are traumatic for those involved, particularly children. Will the Leader ask the Minister to expedite the review and ensure that additional resources are made available to those who find themselves in such difficult, dangerous and traumatic circumstances? Will he also ask the Minister to ensure that a proper refuge is available to those who need it in counties Cavan and Monaghan?