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

I thank the Deputy for all his questions. I will make just three points in response. The way in which the stability programme update is framed is such that it makes no new policy decisions. If policy decisions were made in the document in front of the Deputy, it would, particularly from my point of view, result in mass negotiation with other Departments that want to secure a claim to funding before the budget. This is why the budget represents the only point in the year in which decisions are made on allocations for the following year.

To go back to the Deputy’s point on the reserves, non-core expenditure is all about identifying what we are spending money on that we hope we will not be spending on permanently. Core expenditure, however, involves money we expect to continue to spend in the future, and that is why we have a non-core allocation for this year. However, we have not changed the non-core allocation for next year because that entails a decision we will make in the budget. The figure stands at €700 million for 2024 because the Government has not yet made a decision on how much more money will be needed to meet the various commitments the Deputy is aware of.

The Deputy made a wide contribution. He is one of the few Deputies I have heard since the Minister for Finance published the surplus figures last week who has acknowledged the difficulties we have owing to a high debt. I will not develop any further what the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, has said, apart from saying that if people look back in a decade on this period of surpluses and this generation of politicians, focusing on the Government before the Opposition since the former must ultimately make the decisions, and see we made no attempt to reduce our national debt, their verdict on us will be pretty demanding and severe. In essence, we will have passed on to them a debt that will have reduced their ability to make choices.

I am as aware as anyone in this room of the challenges we all have, day by day, but I want to go back again to the point made by the Minister for Finance with regard to a high level of debt and what that means. Finally, I will make an observation on the whole corporate tax base and I will do so briefly because it will then be dealt with by the Minister for Finance.

Corporate tax receipts and their level are driven by our engagement with global capitalism. I cannot help but be struck by the fact that some of those who are most eager to spend the additional corporate tax receipts that are coming in are most committed to overthrowing global capitalism. There is a severe inconsistency in this. I say this with due regard to my good colleague, Deputy Boyd Barrett. The Deputy will be aware that I do not agree too much with his views on economic policy but he knows that I have the height of respect for him. I am really struck by the irony, however, that he and his sisters and brothers in the socialist movement want to overthrow the form of capitalism that in turn is contributing to the corporate tax receipts we have and which he wants to spend.