Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Sinn Féin always consoles me. I know one point about it - when you give it responsibility, it gets awfully hard-headed and very responsible.

Many issues were raised in regard to tax. I always believed we should address urgently the problem associated with those on very high incomes. It was not that they were paying at a rate of 52% or 55% because, in many cases, they were paying at a rate of 0%. The Government, in this budget and in the next three or four, will close down the means by which those with high disposable incomes can pay no tax on a large part of their incomes.

In this budget, we have made progress on the issue of pension funds, pension fund limits and ways of putting money into pension funds. We have moved on the issue of tax shelters.

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