Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

Like my colleagues on this side of the House, I find the Finance Bill to be a disappointing follow-up to the cruel December budget imposed on lower paid public servants, the blind, the disabled and others. The Fine Gael Party disagrees with the budget's measures and last night tabled a motion on Private Members' business on the inequitable move in which higher paid civil servants took less of a pay cut than lower paid civil servants.

The Bill imposes more stealth taxes on households and motorists. Regrettably, it does not contain a jobs policy to get people back to work and contribute taxes so as to ease the tax burden on other workers. The Fine Gael Party produced a comprehensive policy on transforming the economy, which was, of course, criticised by Ministers. It proposed the establishment of a new holding company, New Era, to invest in a new green energy infrastructure such as wind and wave energy production and the water infrastructure. The latter has become crucially important considering events after Christmas with water shortages and 43% of supplies being lost through leaks in the pipe network. Moneys from the National Pensions Reserve Fund, loans from the European Investment Bank and the sell-off of non-essential State companies would be used to fund the programme which would create up to 100,000 new jobs. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance admitted the unemployment rate could reach 13% later this year, putting Ireland's rate at the second highest in the Eurozone. Why the Government will not seriously reassess the Fine Gael programme is beyond me.

The Bill extends relief on capital gains tax for three years to new companies established in 2010, a welcome provision. However, the Bill does not address credit flow and helping small businesses which are in difficulties. The Minister for Finance must do more to resolve their plight. No provision is made for giving a PRSI break to employers who take on new employees. The new powers to be given to the Revenue Commissioners are to be welcomed. It is hard to understand why this was not considered earlier when it was known there was much tobacco smuggling.

My party also has stated that people cannot be consistently taxed to the hilt while seeking to get the economy out of a recession, yet that seems to be exactly what the Minister is doing here. He is hitting households hard, with VAT being imposed at 13.5% on waste collection and on recycling, while motorists also will be hit with higher off-street parking and motorway toll charges. Ordinary households will find it much more difficult. In Fine Gael's alternative budget of December last, we stated we would cut the VAT rate down to 10% to stimulate services and get things moving again.

The Bill implements six recommendations from the Commission on Taxation but ignores some of the other recommendations in the commission's report, principally about lowering the stamp duty rate which applies to house purchases. Clearly, if we want to get some kind of housing market moving again in this country, the Government must look at the way stamp duty is impacting on ordinary home buyers.

There is nothing in the Bill for the unemployed, to help them retrain and to contribute again, and also to help them receive further education. That needs to be looked at again.

We have not turned the corner. Unfortunately, this year will be much more difficult for many people. I welcome the extension of the moratorium on housing repossession. Clearly, solutions must be found because all it will do is defer the inevitable where we have a problem with people paying mortgage arrears. A proper jobs policy must be looked at, and perhaps the Government can look again Fine Gael's proposal.

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