Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

That is more likely to happen if we reduce VAT rather than increasing it. I do not often agree with what the British authorities do, but I have to admit that the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer took a step in the right direction earlier this week. Where is the investment in infrastructure that will create jobs and build competitiveness? How will we help those who have lost their jobs to get back into the workforce as quickly as possible? How can we ensure they are supported properly while that happens? When will we end the era of tax breaks for the rich, while PAYE workers struggle to survive? Time and again, the Government has got the small things wrong, just like it does with the big things. It has failed to tackle the flooding of the Irish market with cheap imports. It has not dealt with contentious issues like sell-by dates and the incorrect labelling of products as guaranteed Irish. Small businesses are being starved of capital as their overdrafts are cut. New businesses cannot get seed capital or start-up loans. This Bill gives more tax breaks to the private health service, but cannot find a tax incentive or funding initiative for small businesses. It does not provide for the retraining of redundant workers. How is that possible?

In this Bill, the Minister proposes that struggling businesses will need to declare their corporation tax earlier. The process of claiming research and development tax credits, which used to take four years, has been telescoped into four weeks. The Minister seems to be more concerned with draining short-term cash flow than with the long-term strength of companies. The economy is in danger of a serious meltdown, but this Bill does not reflect the gravity of the situation. What will it take to get the coalition to wake up? The Minister for Finance, like the Government as a whole, is asleep at the wheel, unfortunately.

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