John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

More revelations will come and Fine Gael will be ready and waiting to hold to account everyone who has abused the trust and raided the bank accounts of the people. That is the real issue. People are in a privileged position in Cabinet. It is a fantastic honour to be a Deputy, but to be a Minister is a privilege. Clearly, the mistrust and abuse of power are of unbelievable proportions.

At the Committee of Public Accounts, a major VAT scam involving builders was raised. It allowed them to pocket €25,000 to €30,000 on top of escalating house prices. It was an unbelievable loophole in the taxation system. There is a two-tier political system in this country for those who are in a privileged cartel and can avail of the nod and the wink and the advantages of being in Government. That must stop. It has clearly been abused to the point where it has become a major situation. One must remember that Fine Gael has, regrettably, been in office for only two and a half years since 1987, and that is a very short span.

We have heard about local government reform. I was disappointed to hear today that Deputy Ring lost his case. That was the only reform by the Government. It spoke about local government reform, but all that came was the abolition of the dual mandate.

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