Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The problem is that a single person, Deputy or whoever can state he or she did not have this information or that information from one source contradicts information from another One receives reports from the ESRI, as well as Michael Taft's report to the effect that the bottom decile is affected more by changes to VAT or to public services, as the witnesses noted. In general, he gives the figures in respect of the cuts. However, another report will vary on something else and people can hide behind that. Given the Whip system, I do not know whether this would make a huge impact when it comes to budget time but, at the least, those who make these decisions should have the requisite information literally under their noses, to demonstrate what it is they are doing and how it will have an impact on people, as well as in respect of accountability and so on. An example was given of someone living in a home who is insolvent but that is a different argument than the argument about equality budgeting. Ultimately, that is an argument about a fair society. If one refers to the case of a family that got a mortgage of €300,000 when two people were working, who then had two kids and were no longer in work, as well as the banking crisis and so on, one is making a different argument really. I believe the issue of equality budgeting is very important and members should be pushing for it. Ms Bayliss referred to the time when all the groups got together in the Mansion House. They should be preparing now for the next budget by getting together all that information and then shoving it under the noses of the politicians to say this is the story.