Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 September 2022

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Updated Economic and Fiscal Position in Advance of Budget 2023: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I see a real contradiction in what Deputy Boyd Barrett has said. On one hand, he views the corporate sector as being at the root of many of the difficulties we are in. He has said many times that he wants to nationalise many large corporate companies that are located here and he said that again this evening. On one hand, he sees the corporate sector as being the cause of the many challenges we are facing while, on the other, he is all too happy and willing to spend the taxes we are collecting from them. We are warning that we cannot rely on the taxes we are collecting from these companies being there forever.

In terms of the corporate sector and the global capitalism, which the Deputy is committed to defeating, he cannot, on one hand, say he wants to see the back of them while, on the other, saying he wants to spend the money coming in with confidence that this money will keep coming in. He cannot do both. He cannot believe both of those things at the same time or if he does, he must acknowledge the risks that are there.

I do not recall that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I did not recognise the vulnerable and those who are under the most pressure. We recognise the commitment we have to them and we will do our best to discharge it in the budget. Both of us have acknowledged publicly on different occasions that where there are large super-normal profits coming in, ways should be found to either tax or capture some of that profit through regulation. Both the Minister and I have acknowledged that if very large levels of profit are being made for reasons that are beyond the control of a firm and that firm is going to enjoy super-normal profits, it would not be fair that it should enjoy those profits while other firms go out of business. The European Union is likely to come up with the best way of addressing that and we will examine if we can be involved in it. These are matters that are being considered.

Deputy Boyd Barrett assumes the system he wants to see the back of will keep generating current levels of tax revenue and profit and that it is safe to keep spending that money. I do not believe that is the case.

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