Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Kelly and Ms Byrne for their presentation, which was very interesting. Ms Byrne speaks with a powerful voice to express herself very well. I was a little concerned to hear the comments that there were tax breaks for multinationals, but not for nationals. Will she elaborate on this and explain it? Certainly, I got a jolt when the Minister, in the middle of the Budget Statement, referred to the different tax rates and said that the highest tax would be on the self-employed. It appeared to be a discrimination. It is almost telling people to stay with their nine-to-five jobs because there is a discrimination against them should they open their own business. That is something we must confront.

The other matter that jolted me was at the beginning of Ms Byrne's contribution. When she said that women have babies and families and men do not, was she suggesting there should be a positive discrimination against men or in favour of women? I am not sure if it is the case but there appeared to be a danger that she was saying that.