Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but, presumably, the rest of this Bill looks at new things that should be levied. There is, if you like, the grant approach, whereby the taxpayer foots the bill, or the identification of sources of damage and the placing of levies on them so they are internalised to the business. I am seeking an understanding of the balance between the two. Obviously, to the finance director of Ireland Inc., it makes a big difference whether all that money falls on the Exchequer to fund or whether it is shared in that way through well-designed levies and so on. It seems to me that if this is to happen, we must have the stick as well as the carrot or it will become subject to the annual Estimates battle, whereby this will fight with the needs of our health service or our education system for funds and is likely to lose out in that battle. Certainly, it would be a challenging battle to win.