Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make a few observations and pose a few questions, if I may, following the sequence of the presentations. Turning first to Chambers Ireland, there seems to be agreement that the adjustment should be €2.6 billion rather than €3.1 billion. Chambers Ireland argues that the adjustment should all be by way of expenditure cuts. I would be happier had they been here to listen to the people we were speaking to this morning who had the exact opposite view. Both extremes are equally wrong, in my view. It is nonsense to talk about making the entire adjustment through expenditure cuts but equally, it is nonsense for people to suggest that there should be no changes to expenditure. We must do a balancing act in that context.

I was intrigued about some of the issues raised regarding local authorities. Reference was made to car parking charges but a report was published this morning suggesting that Ireland could impose much more parking fees. I ask the delegates to comment on that. They are asking local authorities to make a contribution but how much of the high parking fees are imposed by members of Chambers Ireland? I park in various places, in city centres, provincial towns and so forth, and it is not the local authorities who are responsible for some of the high parking charges. I ask the delegation to bring that point back to some members of Chambers Ireland.

On the issue of tax clearance certificates, the delegates argued that there is scope for modifying this regime to enable the inspector of taxes to apply appropriate discretion on the specific requirement for a tax clearance certificate when a business is receiving a payment from a public body. I ask the delegates to explain the problem here because the basic principle is correct, namely, that businesses should not get paid if they do not have a tax clearance certificate. I ask them to tell us what is wrong with the way it is operating at present.

There is a proposal to reduce capital gains tax to 16%, which is interesting. I understand the point that those who are investing in a business, having sold all or part of a business, should be subject to a lower tax rate than those who, for example, are speculating on the stock market. I ask the delegation to elaborate further on the rationale behind that proposal.

Ireland's rate of return on tendering decisions for public sector contracts is a very big issue. I have met a number of people in local small businesses who have lost out on contracts locally because nationwide contracts are being introduced. Many people are losing jobs as a result. In some cases, jobs are being exported to England. Even though the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of Public Works believe they are a doing a good job by getting a reduced price, they are actually costing the economy serious money in some cases. The principle of what they are doing is right but I do not think they are looking at the issue in the broader context. I ask the delegates to give their views on that point.

The roll-over relief would be worthwhile if we could get people to do that. Reference was made to the maximum amount of benefits in terms of social welfare payments that should be going to any particular household or individual. I ask the delegates to be more specific on that point. We all know of households in receipt of jobseeker's allowance, disability allowance, domiciliary care allowance, carer's allowance, rent supplement payments and so forth. I know of households in receipt of €1,200 cash-in-hand each week from the Department of Social Protection. I ask for observations on that issue. I know some would say that if we hit such households, we are hitting those who are most disadvantaged in terms of disabilities.

In conclusion, there has been a remarkable consensus here about the cuts in expenditure that are required. I am happy the delegates agree that we do not need to make an adjustment of €3.1 billion. They have argued that €2.6 billion would suffice, but do they believe there is scope for going even lower than that?