Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

All of this means the revenue available to the Government is shrinking. VAT, income tax, corporation tax and stamp duty intakes are shrinking. In the long term this means that the funds available to the Government to pay wages and to pay for all services are reducing.

Those who watched the news at 6 p.m. saw that the debt ratio is due to climb to 65% in the next year or two. This is not acceptable in that it will mean we will pay up to one third of our income tax to pay the interest on our debt. We will be heading back to the situation we had in the 1980s when all our PAYE intake went to pay the interest on our debt. We do not want to face back into this situation. The Government must take serious decisions to ensure our economy is brought back into a stable position and we do not throw away the gains we made over the past 20 years.

As the Minister stated, the Government will borrow €4,500 for every man, woman and child in the State. More than one quarter of our current bills, including pay, will be paid with borrowed money and the money we need to borrow will use up one third of income tax receipts. This is why the Government made the decisions it did over the past year. In the coming years, more unpalatable decisions must be made if we want to bring our economy back into equilibrium. Nobody likes to make those types of decisions but they must be made. I am confident the decisions that will be made will ensure each and every citizen will be treated equitably and that the burden will not fall disproportionately on those on lower incomes, who should not be made pay more than their fair share.

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