Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not give a damn about the 2:1. That is an arrangement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil which is not based on any empirical evidence or international comparisons. It is based on how the Minister believes the budget should work. I am concerned about the sustainability of the State's finances. When one measures this State against the OECD, in 2106 we ranked at the 29th lowest tax wedge out of the 35 OECD countries. We had the same position in 2015. In 2016 the average single worker in Ireland faced a tax wedge of 27.1% when the OECD average was seven points higher at 36%.

That is not thinking fuzzily or about what we think are middle-income earners. That is looking at the tax system in this State and comparing it with our peers across the globe. The evidence is clear that we have one of the lowest tax wedges in the OECD and the Minister wants to drive that lower.