Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

In his contribution, Deputy Rabbitte said there was something he did not know. That was unusual.

This is an activation budget the purpose of which is to get people back to work and to ensure everybody pays their fair share of tax. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the budget is concerned not only with ensuring that people domiciled abroad who make their income in Ireland should pay income tax here. It also aims to ensure more old age pensioners get an opportunity to enter the workforce by allowing them to earn up to €100 per week before their pension is affected. The threshold for single parents has increased by another €82 a week to €375. This will allow more tax to be paid by people on small incomes. Moreover, the income disregard for carers has gone up by €20 for a single person and €40 for a couple. A couple can earn €580 per week and still qualify for the carer's allowance.

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