James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I am a firm believer in people helping themselves. I do not agree with easy hand-outs which create a spiralling pattern of dependency. Self help is the route out of poverty. People must be enabled to help themselves whether personally or in respect of business.

This Bill stifles such initiatives and lessens the chance of a quick rise from adversity. On the one hand, it is a missed opportunity on the part of Government to maintain and create jobs and, on the other, a vehicle for the introduction of stealth taxes. It is amusing to note that the Minister in the first sentence of his speech yesterday trotted out his usual platitude that the Finance Bill 2010 ensures that all sectors will play their part in the critical task of stabilising the public finances. Does the Minister really believe this? Does he believe, given the unequal targeting of the low and middle income workers, that this Bill in any way removes that inequality? Can he assure us that this Bill will require all sectors of this country to pay their share? Were that the case, there would be no need for this week's Private Members' motion. Perhaps higher civil servants and the Judiciary slipped his mind.

According to the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland, CPA, the Bill contains little support for native business and shows the Government to be out of step with the day-to-day realities of our national companies and their employees. In a Bill designed to enact a budget that is focused on cutting public expenditure and stabilising the budget deficit, little is to be seen by way of effort to support our struggling business community. Measures such as a reform of the PRSI regime, which acts as a deterrent to employers to increase staffing levels, have been ignored. However, with a belated realisation that export-led growth, such as that experienced during the boom years, is the best hope for a decimated economy, the Bill contains some measures to maintain and perhaps enhance inward investment.

The Government has yet to show any proof of a competitiveness and viable job creation strategy. With NAMA proving to be less than the great white hope predicted by the Taoiseach, businesses are starved of cashflow. The Government pushed through NAMA despite the IMF's reservations in terms of whether it would lead to an increase in lending. While it is undoubtedly true that NAMA will cripple taxpayers for years to come, it is, as feared, not increasing the supply of credit to the economy. Fine Gael's plan for a national recovery bank would get credit flowing and realise the long awaited national stimulus for which we have all been waiting.

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