Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has pointed out that there is a difference between our approaches ideologically, philosophically and economically. That is not to say that the Deputy's analysis of how people feel on the ground is much different from mine. Everybody in Fine Gael and the Labour Party – we are constituency politicians — knows the sacrifices people have made over the past six or seven years. We know how hard people find circumstances and how difficult it is to cope, but my problem with the Deputy's proposals is that I believe they are fundamentally flawed economically and would make matters worse. The solution to the problem he has identified and articulated so well is to grow the economy in order that low-paid people can get a bigger share through higher wages and the retention of their income because of lower personal taxes. That is the drive and objective, and that is where I am going to take it if I get another year or two at this. My objection to the Deputy's views is not personal but that I believe the model he is presenting is flawed. The high-tax model, which advocates the taking of more money from middle-income people-----