Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance Bill and to highlight some areas where the Government could have taken further steps to address some anomalies in the Bill.

Regarding the publication of the Finance Bill and the budget, it is clear that the situation continues whereby one third of taxpayers pay the highest rate of tax of 42 cent in the euro. That is unacceptable and is a long way off the target set by the Government, namely, 20% of taxpayers paying at the higher rate of tax. While the Government says we have a low-tax regime, that is a long way off considering the 41 stealth taxes in place and the fact that one third of all taxpayers pay at the top rate of tax. The Government is far from being a low-tax one. In 2005, almost €2 billion in excess tax was taken from taxpayers.

The 2006 budget sets a number of targets. One relates to carers and care of the elderly. The total package involved is €150 million, which does not even come to the amount the Government has squandered on the PPARS electronic payment system. It all seems to be a mess. The Government is rudderless and cannot deliver on projects. For example, €2.5 billion in the capital spending programme has been left unspent. In the capital spending programme of the Department of Health and Children, €54 million has gone missing. We do not know if it has been spent. The budget and the Finance Bill reveal a litany of missed opportunities by this Government and no coherent action has been taken to address the ongoing wasteful expenditure. That is a major disappointment.

I am disappointed that the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, did not stay in the House because I wanted to address specific points to him. However, some of them are close to the heart of the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, and I am sure he will take note of them. There was no mention in the budget speech of the Minister for Finance of the grand plan for decentralisation.

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