Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

I see nothing wrong with this amendment but I would need to study the proposal in more detail if the amendment was accepted and if the effective tax rate were to be reduced for intellectual trading losses, and how this would affect job creation as mentioned by Deputy English.

We discussed earlier a report on how tax reliefs might impact upon job creation. I take the Minister's valid point that the Minister and the Department of Finance have much to deal with and issues have to be prioritised ahead of reports being commissioned on these matters. The Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners expressed viewpoints with regard to VAT and the Minister agreed to provide these. Can such information be provided to this side of the House as well as to the Minister? Since I became party spokesperson on finance my office has been in regular contact with the Department. However, even though the officials have been more than helpful, we cannot telephone a Department of Finance official and ask for a briefing paper on a proposal. Replies to parliamentary questions are not as extensive and will only provide a summary of any examination conducted by the Department. This is allied to the issue of political reform.

The general election campaign will be an ideological debate and I am very satisfied that my party will offer a very clear alternative to what is being proposed by other parties. Others will say that such and such information is incorrect and that we have plucked figures out of the sky. However, my point is that if my figures are being challenged then it is a challenge to the figures provided by the Minister for Finance because the Minister, through the Department of Finance, has provided me and my party with the figures we are using to show how we would run the Exchequer this year without the IMF-EU bailout. One has to submit many parliamentary questions to get that information and also to study all the answers to arrive at that point. If we are not afraid to allow others to express views that can stack up and are accurate, then we should have no fear about providing all relevant information. As I stated in my opening comments, I understand there are pressures on the Department of Finance. It is not reasonable to ask the Department of Finance to commission hundreds of new reports on the effect of every measure. However, my party's central point of view is that we will get out of the mess through creating jobs. It will not be done through reducing expenditure so it is on par with tax intake, it will be done through growing the economy to reach the level of expenditure. At the same time, savings can be made on the expenditure side. Job creation will be essential this year.

If an issue has been examined - I am not sure but I presume these issues have been examined in the context of this and previous Finance Bills - then let us publish any information we have on the matter to the benefit of the Opposition, namely, the Labour Party, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and the Independents, and those outside who do not have the privilege of serving in these Houses. This would mean those commenting on where we are and on the solutions to getting us out of the mess can make their comments with the best information available. We may not necessarily agree with the information provided by the Department of Finance but at least the information should be there.

As I mentioned, approximately 34 colleagues will leave the Dáil and this is either the second last or last day on which we will meet, depending on whether we meet on Saturday evening. I want to wish them well, in particular Deputy O'Shea who made his parting speech. I have been in the Dáil for only five weeks so I have not had the experience of sharing the Chamber with him for long but we have served together on committees and I wish him and all the retiring Members well.

See this speech in context