Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

At that stage there was a zero manufacturing tax rate for most companies involved in manufacturing and the rate was reduced to a joint common rate as a consequence of EU changes.

The purpose of this amendment is to introduce some fairness and equity for the ordinary man and women who work day in day out, live in the commuter belt around Dublin, pay one mortgage, pay the equivalent of another mortgage if they have one or two children in child care and who were fleeced by then Minister, Deputy McCreevy in 2003 and 2004. The Minister has chosen in all the Fianna Fáil budgets to defend the very well off. There was small change in that respect on his taking office. He was put there to signal a change. If he wanted to do that, he would introduce some equity into the system for PAYE taxpayers compared to the tax breaks he showers on the people who crowd the Fianna Fáil tent at the Galway Races every year.

If the Minister wants to go into the history of corporation tax, he will know that there was a zero manufacturing rate for a period and under EU rules we had to bring that into one rate, and that was signed off by Deputy Quinn during Ireland's Presidency when the Fianna Fáil, Labour and Democratic Left coalition was in power. That is the position in case the Minister is reaching for papers to check it.

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