Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Barnes is very welcome. I wish to pick up again on the issue of spending this year. A significant quantum of resources, as Mr. Barnes referred to in his post-budget commentary, now looks like being a permanent expenditure across a range of different spending heads, particularly in health. To me, this is really a commentary on the deficiencies Covid-19 has exposed in our public health service. As much of that expenditure now will be repeat expenditure, it is now essentially in the base. There is a very clear question as to how we provide the resources to pay those bills over the next few years. Mr. Barnes very pointedly refers to this in his analysis.

Mr. Barnes also refers to the fact that the tax base is disproportionately dependent on volatile corporation tax receipts. We know the Government made a political choice not to have the adult, grown-up conversation we need to have in this country about diversifying our tax base and ensuring that those who have the most may pay more in the context of our economic growth, our economic recovery and investment in the public services on which we all depend. In light of the political straitjacket the Government has talked itself into, as far as Mr. Barnes is concerned what are the options in terms of diversifying the tax base to provide the resources we need to support the public services we demand and on which any modern, decent society should insist? Does he believe, for example, that wealth taxes have a role to play? Wealth has not been tapped and wealth taxes have not been identified as a priority by this Government or the previous one. Does he have a view on the evolution, for example, of property taxes in this country? We know, and all the evidence shows us, that the vast majority of wealth in this country is held in assets. Successive Central Bank reports have indicated that but there are untapped resources there that are required to resource our services going forward. I would like to hear Mr. Barnes's view on that.