Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

The crisis was caused by bankers and the deficit problem was caused by the fact that we lowered taxes on the rich in this country to unsustainable levels. The answer, therefore, is to make the bankers pay for the crisis they caused and to put taxes on the wealthy rather than the vulnerable and working people in this country. It can be done if there was a will to do it but there is no will on the part of this Government and therefore we are stuck with this austerity.

See this speech in context