Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Is the Taoiseach satisfied that we are entering into a debate on the Finance Bill 2008 two working days after it was published? This side of the House has called for a proper tax statement outlining how we spend what is now, according to the Revenue Commissioners, €9 billion in tax expenditures, tax reliefs, for which the Dáil receives no report or evaluation. Effectively, only three Departments have as big a budget under their control, namely, the Departments of Education and Science, Social and Family Affairs and Health and Children, and yet we will vote through the Finance Bill on the nod without any analysis of what we are spending that €9 billion on. Much of it is spent in an unfair and questionable manner. We need a more realistic debate about this issue. When will we see some serious effort to reform the way tax policy is debated and settled in this House?

See this speech in context