AN CONRADH LEIS NA DAOINE

THE COMMUNITY CONTRACT

Aproposal to guarantee spending of
a percentage of Local Property Tax
in the community where it is raised.

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The following submission, Conradh Leis na Daoine The Community Contract is put
forward by the Macroom Fianna Fil Comhairle Ceantar. Our proposal concerns the
use by the Council of the Local Property Tax.

We believe the Council must consider how they use the revenue from the Local Property
Tax. It is pointless in Local or National government asking the public, what a tax rate
should be, if they do not also ask the public what they should do with the resulting tax
revenue. Real Change must involve examining what government does with its revenue,
and what citizens actually want from government. This must apply to government both
Locally and Nationally.

Therefore, we propose that 15% of all Local Property Tax revenue generated in a District
Electoral Division should remain in that District Electoral Division, for community
development purposes.

Critics of Conradh Leis na Daoine might describe it as an attempt to sanitise Local
Property Tax. They might describe it as an attempt to make Local Property Tax
acceptable to the general public. This is untrue. We believe this tax is among the most
badly designed taxes in the history of the state. A tax which makes no regard for the
income, or ability to pay of the tax payer, cannot be sanitized or made acceptable.


Rather we believe that a Real Recovery and Real Change must involve using the
tremendous resources which exist in this country. Among these resources are the
community organisations and their members across the country. This proposal aims to
provide those groups and their activists, with some help to develop the potential and
address the problems of their areas.







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CONRADH LEIS NA DAOINE THE COMMUNITY CONTRACT

Our proposal, Conradh Leis na Daoine, which seeks to guarantee spending of a
percentage of Local Property Tax in the community where it is raised, works as follows:

We call on Cork County Council to:

1. Institute a policy scheme whereby a minimum of 15% of the Local Property Tax
collected within a District Electoral Division, would be ring fenced, for spending
within that District Electoral Division.

2. Consider applications for funding under this scheme from officially recognized
community based organizations which operate on a non-commercial basis and:

I. desire to improve or develop community facilities,

II. desire to improve or develop community services,

III. Or otherwise plan to embark on a project which, in the opinion of the deciding
body will improve the quality of life in the relevant District Electoral Division.

3. Administer spending of this money as follows:

I. Decisions on applications for funding would be taken through the Municipal
District Councils.

II. Cork County Council would set the parameters through which Conradh leis Na
Daoine would operate. These parameters would be uniform for all Municipal
District Councils within the county.

III. These parameters would also include a mechanism which would define what an
officially recognized community based organization is, and what it is not.

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IV. Cork County Council would set an annual period, during which groups could
file applications for funding to the Municipal District Council. The annual
period would be uniform for all Municipal District Councils within the county.

V. In the event the value of all applications for monies allocated to a District
Electoral Division, were smaller than the allocated amount, a second application
period would open.

VI. If all allocated monies are not spent at the end of this period, then the Municipal
Council would be entitled to spend it on activities for which the local authority
is responsible, outside the remit of this proposal. However, this spending would
have to occur within the District Electoral Division where the money originated.

4. Furthermore, to ensure Local Property Tax does not become a mechanism through
which national government reduces contributions to the Local Government Fund,
we propose:
A Cork County Council will lobby central government to guarantee through
legislation, for all Local Property Tax collected within a county, to stay
within that county.
B Cork County Council will lobby central government to guarantee through
legislation, that a guaranteed percentage of the national tax take will be
ring fenced for the Local Government Fund

5. Recognising the unfair format of Local Property Tax, that Cork County Council
will lobby national government, to replace Local Property Tax, with a source of
funding which reflects the ability to pay, of the taxpayer.

6. Circulate this proposal to all local authorities in the state, and urge their adoption
of same.


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We believe this proposal will have the following benefits:

As a percentage of Local Property Tax collected within a District Electoral
Division will stay within a District Electoral Division, citizens will make a direct
investment in their own communities, by paying their Local Property Tax. Hence
Local Property Tax could be a real local tax by providing real benefits to every
District Electoral Division.

A 15% ring fencing policy would guarantee a source of funding for community
groups in each District Electoral Division. We accept unreservedly, that our
proposal is quite similar to the existing Community Fund scheme. However, our
proposal offers a pure democratic mechanism to distribute some funding to
every District Electoral Division.

This policy is not a replacement for the existing Community Fund. Rather it
seeks further investment in, and utilisation of, the existing community group
sector.We believe utilisation of the existing community group sector can play a
key role in creating Real Change and a Real Recovery in our country

A 15% ring fencing policy would help create a real economic recovery, albeit in a
small way, around the county. Local Property Tax collected in an area would be
reinvested within an area. It is reasonable to think groups in receipt of funding
would support local business when spending their funding.

By guaranteeing funding to individual District Electoral Divisions, this proposal
can create a greater connection between community groups, their members, and
local government as a whole. Community groups and their members in each
District Electoral Division would have a real positive, impact in their own
District Electoral Divisions. We believe this proposal can create Social
Partnership between Local Government and the Community Sector in every
community. This Social Partnership will provide groups who know the problems

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of their own areas, with the means to tackle those problems.