Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

These matters were widely amplified and articulated as the people went to the polls and made decisions in respect of some of them. I note the Deputy's interest in protecting the tax base. His party's election campaign proposal in respect of this matter would have cost €660 million in a full year and would not have had any impact on prices or accrued any benefits for first-time buyers, the only ones who come into the market without equity. The housing market has been extremely buoyant for the past decade. In the past, criticisms from the benches opposite in respect of this matter related to the affordability of house purchases.

It is important to consider this issue in the proper context. I am glad the Deputy referred to the speech I made last night in which I set out where the priorities for the economy in the next decade should lie. Since I became Minister for Finance, I have brought forward initiatives which have in my view and in any objective analysis improved equity within the tax system. When the Deputy's party was in office, hundreds of thousands on low pay or the minimum wage paid tax. They no longer do so. That is a testimony to the improvements in equity for those in most need who were not catered for when the Deputy's party was in office.

That we have continued to improve the lot of those paying tax at the standard rate by widening the bands is another achievement. When one considers the contribution of capital taxes as against that of income tax and consumption taxes paid by individuals, one can see that the percentage of the tax take has more than trebled, from 4% to almost 12%, since the Deputy's party was in office. These are indications of the improvements that have been made.

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