Fianna Fáil’s Leader on Dublin City Council and candidate in the European Parliament elections, Mary Fitzpatrick has responded to today’s reports of Labour Party ‘plans’ to cut property tax, but only after the local elections and only on councils where they take the majority of seats.

Cllr. Fitzpatrick commented, “I think that people will have woken up to news of this stunt today with a mixture of incredulity and anger.  The idea that Labour bosses believe that people would buy any promises from the party that brought us the ‘Every Little Hurts’ campaign and reneged on promises regarding everything from child benefit cuts to university registrations fees show just how out of touch and detached from reality the party has become.

“People will not fall for this.  They will remember that this same Labour Party that tried to fool people by introducing the property tax first as a six months tax in the hope of disguising the full 12-month impact on hard pressed homeowners.  They will also remember the words of Pat Rabbitte when he was confronted with the list of promises that Labour broke the last time voters believed them: ‘isn’t that what you do during an election’.  And now, right on cue with another election looming, the Labour Party launches another election stunt promising to cut the property tax that is double what people were forced to pay last year, but only after the election and only on councils that they control.

“There is a strong argument for an easing of the property tax burden, especially in Dublin, but the Labour Party’s transparent election stunt is pitiful politics and will be seen for what it is.”