Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The item under discussion is the idea of a levy on wealth in order to pay for the various support schemes, although I also indicated that I supported it to help finance other schemes such as the large increase in investment in the public health service. The Minister indicated to me that he was opposed to it on the grounds of international competition. Essentially, the argument was that if Ireland was to introduce a levy of that kind, it would give other states a competitive advantage in attracting foreign direct investment.

The type of profits being made by some companies and the type of wealth being accumulated by some individuals is on such a significant scale that even a relatively modest levy on wealth or profits could raise significant sums of money and spare the taxpayer and ordinary people the hardships involved in financing the various programmes. I will provide a few examples. It is estimated that a 10% levy on the profits of the big pharmaceutical companies and private hospitals could raise as much as €2 billion and that a 1.5% tax on millionaires in our society, excluding the first €1 million worth of wealth, could raise nearly double that sum - €3.8 billion. The Sunday Timesrich list estimates that the 300 richest individuals in Irish society own and control wealth and assets of €93.7 billion. This is a practical issue because the measures the State has been forced to implement, including the various support schemes and the increase in health expenditure, has to be paid eventually by somebody. Essentially, the question will be whether it will be paid by those who can best afford to pay or whether it will be the working people - the poor bloody infantry once again - who will be clobbered for this. We are saying very clearly that there should be wealth taxes and a special levy on profits.

This is quite a popular position. In recent times, opinion polls have consistently shown that there is widespread popular support for a measure such as this.

The Minister has argued against it on the grounds of international competitiveness. Let us be clear. What the amendment is calling for is a report to be drawn up on how this might be implemented. I do not have any problem if the Minister wants to support the idea of Covid wealth taxes or a Covid levy being introduced in a co-ordinated international way, although I feel that if a number of countries were to go first on this, it would be an enormously popular measure among the mass of the population, not just in the countries that introduce it but on an international basis, and would put pressure on all governments to follow suit and implement a policy of that kind.

It seems that the Minister is opposing an amendment that does not necessarily box him in as to how such a levy might be introduced and is merely about a report that can facilitate further discussion on the issue. Even if the Minister is opposed to the measure and is prepared to take part in that debate, there is no reason he should oppose the drawing up of a report on the issue, particularly as there is so much public support for this measure these days.