Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not having this kind of argument just for the sake of having an argument about language. My view is that there has been a deliberate classification of "middle income" in this State which bears no relationship with the reality of the levels at which incomes are actually earned. For example, the Minister gave a figure of €30,000 but more than 50% of people have an income of less than €30,000. If I asked my 11 year-old son Pádraig where was the middle, he would say somewhere around 50%, yet the Minister's middle starts above that mark and goes right up to 85%. That is done deliberately. When the Government then says it is reducing taxes for the middle-income earners, it is a different message. I am sure Leo's strategic communications unit would not be too happy if it was going out saying, "We are reducing taxes for the top 15% of income earners." Indeed, it is probably actually worse. We will come to that later in respect of another amendment, when I will talk about the way Revenue is collecting statistics. What we do know is that someone on €70,000 at present is in the top 15%, but that is taxpayer units. Such a unit might comprise a husband and wife, where one individual has an income of €40,000 and the other an income of €30,000.

However, that is taxpayer units. As such, those individual units may consist of a husband and wife of €40,000 and €30,000. If we have individual incomes, it is likely that they are closer to the top 10% of income earners in the State. I do not take away from the fact that someone on €70,000 finds it difficult to put a child through college, meet mortgage payments or deal with high child care fees or as to the pressure in their lives, but let us have an honest debate on finances. The Minister cannot square the circle where he said somebody on €70,000 is on the higher end while still believing that is somebody who is on a middle income. A middle income must be somewhere in the middle. The Minister cannot redefine the middle; it is not possible. The middle is the middle and it cannot be the other end.