Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I had not read the figures helpfully provided by our secretariat on the beneficiaries, their numbers and the salary range.

It would shock many people to learn that a small but significant number of incredibly well-paid individuals are paying less tax than they are. The salary ranges about which we are talking are morally shocking. It is worth noting that 359 people who have incomes of between €75,000 and €150,000 are getting tax breaks and 160 people who earn between €150,000 and €225,000 are paying less income tax than normal workers. Some 79 people who earn between €225,000 and €300,000, 56 who earn between €300,000 and €375,000, 95 who earn between €375,000 and €675,000, 26 who earn between €675,000 and €1 million a year, 14 who earn between €1 million and €3 million a year and four who earn between €3 million and €10 million a year are also getting tax breaks which allow them to pay proportionately less tax than average workers. That is unbelievable. Does Ms Gunnell believe there is a moral problem with that? I did not even know that anybody could earn between €3 million and €10 million in salary a year. It is staggering and beyond belief; it is morally quite obscene. Does Ms Gunnell believe there is any moral problem with it?