Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

There may have been a slight economic recovery but it has been on the backs of ordinary people who have paid for it. The ordinary people, the taxpayers, workers and social welfare recipients, have borne the brunt of €30 billion being taken out of the economy in eight years. This has been a very blunt instrument to impose on a people within the space of a short period of time.

In the recent budget those on low incomes have received a tax relief of €2 a week compared to a tax relief of €17 to €18 a week for those on high incomes. That shows which way this Government is again transferring the wealth to those who earn more.

The Government's amendment aims to turn this debate into another chorus of self-praise for its recent budget. This debate should be about inequality and the reality that we live in a very unequal and therefore, unfair and unjust society. We live in a world dominated by global capitalism. Inequality is not just an unfortunate by-product of the working out of the capitalist system; it is an integral part and essential component of the system. For capitalism to work, there must be a situation whereby capital, the means to invest and produce new wealth, is held by a minority, a small minority which is becoming smaller, while the majority have no capital and are forced to work for a small capitalist class.

I refer to the recent Oxfam report which states that the 85 wealthiest people in this world earn $500,000 every five minutes while people at the bottom are struggling to feed their kids, to put a roof over their heads, to find decent employment. This is the root of all the inequality, unfairness and injustice in the world every day.

An example of this inequality, unfairness and injustice is the effect of the Ebola virus crisis in Sierra Leone. Ebola is a vicious virus but any health professional knows that the rate of attrition would be well below the current levels if it were not attacking people who live just above starvation in a country with a non-existent health service. As long as we tolerate this system and fail to consider that there are alternatives, these problems will persist.

Inequality, unfairness and injustice, like poverty, will always be with us. Irish society is one of the most unequal in an unequal world. Since 1975, average incomes in Ireland have doubled which is a significant achievement. However, incomes for the top 10% of the population have tripled and real incomes for the top 1% have grown five times. That does not take into account the six years of austerity which has hit those hardest who can least afford it.

Using statistics collated by the United Nations, the Oxfam report states that Ireland has by far the highest level in Europe of income inequality before taxes and welfare payments are taken into account. According to the UN report, if it were not for the effect of redistribution of those taxes and welfare, over 50% of our population would be living in poverty.

Government policy has had a significant effect in reducing inequality and poverty but it has not eliminated either.

It is better to live in a society with progressive redistribution policies, where taxation takes from those who are better off and gives, including services, to those who are less well off, with a good social welfare system, first class universal health care, an education system which gives equal opportunities to all and good community services. I am sure all of the parties here aspire to this, but it has never been achieved. What progress had been made has been more or less dismantled over the past six years. The UNICEF report this year showed the number of children living in poverty rose by 10% between 2008 and 2012. An extra 130,000 children are experiencing poverty, increasing the amount to a scandalous 28% of all children.

Last night one of the Fine Gael Deputies stated funding for the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, had been reduced from €70 million to €62 million. This means €8 million has been cut from communities which most need support. Are we now speaking about the equalisation of misery and poverty in the country rather than increasing this funding and ensuring all areas get the proper funding they should?

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