Sir, – There has been a lot of correspondence in your columns recently regarding the relative merits of higher or lower local property tax (LPT) rates. Most of the arguments base their “facts” in their respective political space.
The big problem, however, is different. The overall funding of local government is understood by few, leading to absurd positions where parties, supposedly on the left, coalesce with parties of the right to oppose capital taxation, while at the same time both demanding that more money is spent.
Ireland needs a more clearly understood system of local government funding, and I have long called for a national forum to be established to agree a system that can be clearly understood by the public and on which all political parties can then base their proposals using the same agreed funding models.
Such a forum, comprised of the social partners, councillor representatives and the political parties, would be given six months to present a report in time for it to be legislated for the 2029 local elections. Not only would it be a more honest approach financially, it also could bring back credibility to our local government. – Yours, etc,
RM Block
Cllr DERMOT LACEY,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.
