John Dennehy (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Curran referred earlier to the new tax relief scheme for the Shannon area and there is also tax relief for the film industry. I support all those schemes although I have no direct involvement in any of them. There is a significant amount of begrudgery on many sides of the House on these issues but we cannot afford it because too much employment is at stake and we are under too much pressure.

There was personal begrudgery in much of the criticism of the horse breeding industry. In many cases, the same principles were involved in funding the film industry and no one objected to that because the people working in it were lobbying them directly. Likewise, the Shannon scheme is an excellent one. I do not think I should state that I am against it, because it is further north than Cork, but we are hearing an element of that.

I wish to comment briefly on the highly personalised attack on the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, by Deputy Naughten. Referring back to the Minister's position in a previous Ministry is of no benefit to us. She has an excellent track record. Early in life she has achieved a status of which the Deputy, like me, will probably only dream. She has done an excellent job in her ministries and it is grossly unfair of the Deputy to refer back to her former Ministry with a casual throwaway suggestion that she was not caring or did not worry about the vulnerable in society. I do not accept that; it is inaccurate and unnecessary.

As others stated, the purpose of the Bill is to protect our prosperity and encourage further enterprise and investment by underpinning the main provisions of budget 2007, which was designed to foster fairness for all. Obviously, tax related issues figure prominently in any Finance Bill. Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, apparently once claimed that the wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality. I suppose that is the goal to which we all should aspire. There is also an old saying which suggests that, next to being shot at and missed, nothing is quite as satisfying as an income tax refund. In that context, I hope there will be many satisfied people. As previous speakers have said, this Bill, when enacted, will remove almost two in five income earners from the tax net. It delivers on our promise, which largely affects middle income earners, to ensure that 80% of all taxpayers pay tax at no more than the standard rate.

The recently proposed increases in the minimum wage, together with the €400 increase in tax credits, means that an employee can earn €17,600 without paying tax. This compares with €5,000 in 1997. The lowest paid workers in society can now earn over three times more than they could then before entering the tax net. So much for Labour Party claims that we have treated these people unfairly.

Even allowing for inflation and related factors this represents real delivery for one of the most vulnerable groups in society. When commentators speak in absolute terms about some not benefiting from our sustained economic progress, they might consider such matters. I am not suggesting that everything is perfect but strides are being taken to alleviate the burden on taxpayers who can least afford to shoulder payment. Progress has been made by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, since he took up his portfolio.

I have long argued that anyone earning the minimum wage should be exempt from tax. If there is a minimum wage which an individual must be paid for his or her labour, he or she should not have to pay income tax on it.

Tax is an everyday feature of our lives and we all feel that the less we have to pay, the better. The Finance Bill 2007 is, I believe, another step towards achieving that noble aim by putting the provisions of the recent budget in place, including the reduction of the top rate of tax to 41 per cent and the exemption of the minimum wage from tax payments.

Again, we are casually accepting the reduction in the top rate of income tax. I mentioned previously that with a household consisting of seven dependants, as the sole earner, I paid 67% in stoppages in 1986 and 1987. That was my personal situation and I have no problem mentioning it to show the progress that has been made under these two Governments.

I believe that we must also continue to pursue the objective of removing all retired pensioners from the tax net. We can do this most effectively by increasing the thresholds to, say, over 65 years of age, then over 70 years of age and so on, in the same way that we give extra social welfare payments to those specific age groups. This allows for the fact that they will experience increased dietary and heating needs and so on. This concept should be extended to remove those over 70 years of age from the tax net.

The first time I suggested all pensioners should be exempt from tax, people went over the top and started suggesting it would benefit millionaires. That is rubbish as there are very few such people and an income limit could be set. Removing retired people over 70 years of age from the tax net should be an objective.

I compliment the Minister on several initiatives he has taken which are aimed at assisting older people, people with disabilities, part-time workers and other specific groups. I compliment him in particular on section 9 of the Bill, which provides the necessary legislative changes to allow the Revenue Commissioners, where possible, to credit and repay automatically reliefs such as age-related tax credits, health expenses, tuition fees and trade union subscriptions.

This issue has been bandied around for some time and, under examination, the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners estimated how much in unclaimed benefits might be involved. Figures of up to €1 billion have been suggested. Two things are certain: it is a very substantial amount and it belongs to the taxpayers involved. I say this despite the fact that the Office of the Revenue Commissioners has become more user friendly and has made dramatic changes in dealing with and facilitating the public. We must make greater efforts to ensure people receive their entitlements and there are thousands of cases where people have not claimed all the possible refunds and allowances.

I know from distributing my budget leaflets that people are not aware of many of the reliefs available to taxpayers and therefore they are not utilised. This aspect of the Bill is one that will be welcomed by most people. Up to this point, unless one was able to employ an accountant, one would struggle to figure out what was available.

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