Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

The Tánaiste has not answered the questions I asked. He devoted most of his time to answering questions which were not those I asked. Davy, which is not regarded as reckless, has indicated that tax receipts in 2008 will decrease by €1.3 billion on the basis of the existing figures for housing. Does the Minister intend to stick his head in the sand, like an ostrich, by pretending that is not happening, or will he try to anticipate the impact of the predicted decline on public financial planning? That is the question I would like him to answer. He seems to be pretending that it would be unwise at this stage to anticipate such a fall. That suggests that he believes such a reduction will not happen, or that he believes such a reduction will have no impact. There is no sound basis for either belief. How will the Minister cope with the likely decline in revenue of over €1 billion in 2008? What impact will such a decline have?

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