Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

In his report, Mr. Wright focuses a great deal on pro-cyclical fiscal policy but does not, as I pointed out earlier, have a great deal to say with regard to property and construction. Is he saying that the pro-cyclical fiscal policy was more responsible for the crash than the property bubble and all that went with it? The report is also very critical of the decision to remove the lowest paid workers - who are really on poverty wages - from the tax net and of Government spending. According to EUROSTAT, in the period leading up to the crash, Government spending in Ireland, as a percentage of GDP, was the second lowest in the entire EU. What else would young nurses, teachers and public servants - many of whom are on low or middle incomes - have done but seek wage increases when their accommodation costs were going through the roof? It was a case of their seeking wage increases or living in tents. However, Mr. Wright, in his report, appears to be very critical of what happened in this regard.