Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputies Shortall, O'Sullivan, Neville and Bruton.

E.M. Forster's novel Howard's End contains the famous phrase "Only connect". The challenge for the alternative Government is to connect our booming economy with our social wellbeing. The central challenge for the next Government will be to create and sustain not only a successful economy but a successful society. The alternative Government will have as one of its central themes "Every Child Matters". That means we must address the gaping deficit in local facilities, primary school places and lift children out of poverty.

The Government parties made a number of simple promises to children during the last election. They promised class sizes of 20 and under for children aged nine and under. Since then they have dithered and flip flopped on this and many other promises to children. If we are to connect our successful economy and create a successful society, tax justice matters. It may come as a surprise to the Government parties that a single worker on the average industrial wage pays tax on overtime and bonuses at 42%. Despite their promise four and a half years ago that only 20% of workers would pay tax at the 42% rate, approximately 33% of PAYE workers still pay tax at the top rate. That is the position of ordinary workers.

In tandem with this, the scandal of top earners paying little or no tax continues apace, as highlighted by the last week's publication of the Revenue Commissioners' study on the effective tax paid by the top 400 earners. The number of high earners paying a zero effective rate increased from five to six. Moreover, the number of top earners paying an effective tax rate of less than 15% increased by 55 to 79, a staggering increase of almost 50%. The figures highlight that tax avoidance by Ireland's top 400 earners increased significantly, due to the continued expansion of property-based tax breaks, in particular.

The Progressive Democrats big idea is to extend such tax breaks to private hospitals as the tax breaks for hotels are phased out. Our health service will be investor and tax driven rather than care centred. People want a society with a caring and quality health care system, not a society where care is only seen in the context of a tax break for a small band of high net worth investors.

Other blatant avoidance mechanisms continue to be nurtured by the Government. As young couples struggle to pay stamp duty on second-hand houses, people would be surprised to know high rollers in the property development business have the option of neatly sidestepping stamp duty by either licencing arrangements or conveying shares in a company rather than the property.

The Labour Party's campaign for tax justice has at its core the introduction of a minimum effective tax rate of 20% for the wealthy, including those notionally non-resident from our shores for tax purposes but who seem to spend almost all of their time in the country. The minimum effective tax rate would ensure that while necessary tax incentives could be provided, not even the very wealthy could avoid making a contribution at the lower PAYE rate of 20%. This is one of the reasons we need a general election and a new Government to connect the economy with the wellbeing of society.

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