Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I will not delay because Members would like to debate other amendments. When the Minister made this commitment, he knew that the standard rating had been introduced. Tax credits were in place. It is not something that was unknown to the Minister and his Government colleagues when he made this commitment. Seeking a fool's pardon now because it was much more difficult to achieve that he thought is a bit like the former Taoiseach, Charlie Haughey, saying he did not realise what a big issue the health service was until the election happened. These were commitments the Government solemnly made, and people will take the Minister at his word.

I do not share the Minister's view that this has been a great boon for single income families or average working families. When the process of individualisation was reconsidered as a result of a backbench revolt, a home carer's credit was set at €770. It was virtually equal to the PAYE allowance at the time, amounting to a credit of €800. This has been allowed to be eroded. There has been no increase while PAYE workers have seen huge increases. Individualisation for single income families means they pay €5,000 more in tax on the same income than a double earner family. This has gone too far, coupled with the erosion of the home carer's credit. The Minister has tipped the balance too far.

To say average workers have done well is not true. They have worked hard and provided huge amounts of tax revenue for the Exchequer through not just their income tax but the purchase of houses, cars and so on. We should not forget that this is the only country in Europe where the tax rate on consumption is higher than the tax rate on income. There is an extremely high level of tax on consumption in this country. This is a big factor in the huge growth in tax revenue. It has not been a good deal for average workers who must spend most of their income on tax.

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