DONEGAL TD Pearse Doherty has clashed with a Fine Gael Minister over property tax.
Brian Hayes and the Sinn Fein TD spoke over each other repeatedly on RTE1′s The Frontline programme as they debated the cuts and taxes in this week’s Budget.
At one stage Deputy Hayes – Minister of State for Public Reform – goaded the Donegal politician over the household charge.
The Minister told Deputy Doherty that he appeared happy with property taxes in the North “where the average household pays £1,000 a year.”
Then the Gaoth Dobhair man hit back: “Yes, but they can free bins, free water, free septic tanks, a free health service…..”
Then the Minister interrupted again, leaving show host Pat Kenny to move the debate on.
A member of the audience then accused the Minister of being overpaid with “a Taoiseach who gets more money than the President of the United States.”
The Minister rejected this – but it wasn’t long before he was clashing with Pearse Doherty again, this time over how the last budget was “the most unequal of the last six.”
As the Minister insisted that wasn’t true, Doherty jibed: “You weren’t responsible for four of them, are you now going on the coat trails of Fianna Fail.”
Professor Brian Lucey then backed the Donegal TD on his figures, saying the ESRI report had, in fact shown the most vulnerable had been forced to pay more.
As Minister Hayes spoke again over Doherty, the Sinn Fein man could be heard saying sarcastically: ”Relax, relax relax.”
The debate then switched to education, with Doherty insisting: “Education is a right not a privilege.”
The Donegal man said it should be free at all levels, primary, secondary and at third level, telling Pat Kenny it should be paid for with taxes on the rich.