Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late and please let me know if I have asked a question that has already been answered. On the EU fiscal rules, at a time when interest rates are on the bottom it seems absolutely crazy that we are slavishly going along with these ridiculous rules about the level of investment in discretionary measures which can generate activity. There is no sense or meaning to it.

I do not see anybody speaking out about this on a constant basis. If one can borrow money at 1% or 2% and in doing so one can make 10% or 12% it does not make sense. This is the sort of thing that is driving the public mad in terms of these European rules and regulations, in other words the "Brussels syndrome" where everybody is against Brussels and nobody seems to be able to deal with this.

I am interested in Professor Clinch's views on this. That leads on to what we should be doing and Professor Clinch has touched on that. We have an opportunity here, especially with Brexit coming down the line. It is like a disease that is going to come upon us. It is a fact that we are going to be interfered with in terms of what we can or cannot do. I touched on this earlier. We need to connect with other parts of the country. I can drive to Galway in two hours now and I can be in Cork in just over two hours or two and a half hours. I remember working in Cork back in the 1960s when it took four and a half hours. This whole thing seems to be madness.

In the area I represent house prices are going up at the rate of 20% to 30%. The whole thing is so imbalanced. There needs to be proper capital investment to enable people travel in a reasonable amount of time to different parts of the country where they could live in peace and comfort. I would love to see a body such as the council driving this. I am not saying that it has not in the past, but it is something that is brushed aside. I am asking Professor Clinch's view on this to see if I am talking nonsense.

I also hear cries for retaining the USC but the USC was brought in as an emergency measure and there was no basis to it in the tax system. It is now a sort of a mortal sin to talk about reducing it or eliminating it, there is no sense nor meaning to it. A taxation system should be based on a proper footing and it should not become a means of people satisfying their conscience by trying to avoid taxes by as much as they can.

This leads me on to another fact of life. People, and the best of luck to them, are now setting up their own businesses, especially in the trades area. If one gets a plumber into the house, or a carpenter or an electrician or a general handyman, most of the reward given to the person doing the work is by cash. I doubt very much whether we are getting proper returns compared with the PAYE payer. There is a huge gap between the disposable income of people who are earning what are regarded as high salaries and those who are earning money doing work in a situation where it is very easy to avoid our taxation system. I look forward to the view of Professor Clinch. I may be slightly off wall but it strikes me that there is an imbalance here. Certainly, the EU fiscal rules seem to be crazy at a time when interest rates are so low.