Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

There is significant tax justice for lower paid income earners since this Government came into office. When Deputy Quinn was Minister for Finance one in four workers were exempt from the tax net on much lower income. More than one in three workers is now exempt from tax and this occurs in the context of an extra 500,000 people at work. The number of people exempt from tax has doubled. If I were to pursue a programme for Government which left one in four exempt from tax, Deputy Burton would quote figures of 75% of workers on the standard rate. The difference between 33% and 25%, some 8.5%, now exempt from tax because of our tax policies, would pay standard rate tax at 20%. In other words, Deputy Burton is criticising me for taking more people out of the tax net at the bottom and for not having 80% of taxpayers paying 20%. I have taken people out of the tax net. Is Deputy Burton suggesting I should not have changed the policy that left one in four workers exempt from tax? If this were the case an extra 8.5%, currently exempt, would pay tax at the standard rate and this would add to the figure of 67%, giving a total of more than 75%.

See this speech in context