Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Yes. We must hand it to the very big business interests in this State. They have managed to make it an article of national faith that we dare not suggest that they pay a cent more from their profits to the upkeep of our society. It is a source of wonderment in this Dáil in the last day or so that Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil and, apparently, Sinn Féin are prepared to lay down their lives in the economic trenches for the cause of ensuring that big business will not be called upon to pay a cent more in taxes against a background of massive crisis in our public finances and services.

The same political establishment pitilessly and without compunction is prepared to savage the meagre income of the disabled, the unemployed and low and middle income workers. What incredible hypocrisy the political establishment is guilty of. When its system went into a tailspin as an inevitable result of the outrageous racketeering in the Irish property market and because of the insane activities of the capitalist financial markets - in reality casinos - we had rallying cries from the right wing political parties to the effect that we are all in this together and must pull together to make sacrifices equally, although we must protect the vulnerable. In practice, the vulnerable were hammered with the universal social charge and cuts in social allowances and income. Hands were meanwhile left off billionaire and multi-millionaire business interests.

Labour Deputies have the audacity to come here claiming to represent areas of this country where the poorest and most hard hit of our people live and are being savaged by cuts which the party will implement in government. They come here to protect the millionaire and billionaire interests from paying a cent more, which is quite incredible.

The Fianna Fáil motion and the debate so far has kept clear of facts and figures relating to corporate profits and tax. I direct people to the amendment in the names of Deputy Clare Daly and myself, which gives the facts. In the five years from 2004 to 2008, inclusive, total corporate profits were €268.3 billion. Total tax was €27.1 billion, leaving an effective tax rate of 10.1%. In that five years, €241 billion was made in clear profits by the corporate sector. Is it seriously being suggested that if corporation tax was required to be higher by a few percentage points, leading to another €10 billion or €20 billion over that time, corporate leaders would see €220 billion as not being enough and that companies would leave? Even if we did not require the sector to pay the Danish or Austrian rate but another €20 billion over five years, we would have an extra €4 billion per year for services, meaning the poor and vulnerable would not have to be hit. Corporations would scarcely feel this in the level of profits.

The establishment parties argue that multinationals will go if there is talk of a rise in corporation tax, which is doing a significant disservice to why they are here. What about our highly educated, skilful and intelligent workers, who have language skills and access to Europe? All these factors make it attractive for multinationals to come here. The Irish State failed to develop a solid and modern manufacturing basis arising from research and development over decades. Instead, there was an over-reliance on foreign investment, and the jobs now in existence must be defended. Private investment has fallen dramatically in the past three years, leading to the disaster of 440,000 unemployed in the country. Relying on private investment, whether foreign or domestic, is doomed to failure in current circumstances. Only major public investment in major infrastructural projects of a public nature will create the tens of thousands of jobs required.

In conclusion we must point to the nefarious role of the media, much of which is owned by billionaires, which has led this propaganda campaign against any talk of requiring big business to pay more. The sector is a major beneficiary of that low rate of corporation tax.

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