Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

It does not work anymore. We are now trying desperately to rebuild a different model. There were parts of the world in which that rotten, corrupt style of capitalism, the Anglo-Saxon model, never really took hold. One could cite, for example, the Scandinavian democracies. Proudly led, for the most part, by Labour Party or social democratic Governments, they were prepared to find the right balance of taxation, including capital taxation, to provide high employment economies with large budgets and considerable spending on health, education, welfare and public transport, whatever was necessary for those states. We, unfortunately, had the kind of Government Deputy Varadkar still seems to yearn for.

I agree with the comments of my colleagues with regard to DIRT and the implications of the second last resolution increasing the levy on non-life insurance premiums, which will surely be another deflationary influence and will make things that little bit harder. Tonight many people following this debate will say this is the straw that broke the camel's back. This must end. Working people cannot support this approach anymore. Therefore, I say to the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance that, in the words of the AIB shareholders, they should just go. Let us have an election and a proper Government with a mandate, which will bring in policies that will suit the whole country.

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