Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the debate on the universal social charge.

If I may, with the permission of the Chair, comment on the previous debate, the Abbeylara committee of which I was a member was one that challenged many legal positions that the Houses of the Oireachtas had not foreseen.

On the universal social charge, I suppose there is not a politician in any party who did not find it hotly debated on every doorstep the length and breadth of the country right up to 25 February. Having voted it through, my party was certainly getting more stick than most in this regard. It certainly had an impact on people. The universal social charge was one of the main issues in the election.

However, as we must be realistic in our debate and on how we go forward as a nation, the simple facts of the matter are we are spending more money as a nation than we are earning and we must address that fundamental issue. There were discussions on broadening the tax base and I suppose the issue at which we must look is how will we get enough money to bring down the deficit and ensure the deficit is maintained. We looked at many issues in the past Government and the simple fact was there was a significant amount of people who were outside the tax net. That had to be looked at because in any democracy one must balance the books.

As the Government has changed and the roles are reversed in a dramatic form since the election, a review of the social charge is promised. We can have a review of the social charge, but the figures will not change. The reality is that we, the Parliament and the people, must implement tough decisions that will impact on the lives of everybody. We have done so over the past two and a half to three years since the economy went into a tail spin and we have seen the political consequences of that, particularly for Government.

Howsoever, there is one fundamental that we must ensure in any decisions made by the incoming Government. I wish them well. They have a tough, difficult and onerous task and I wish the two Ministers of State who are here on the front bench, Deputies Ryan and Perry, well in their respective portfolios. There is good will towards the Government and there is a hope and expectation that we can turn the tide around in this economy. What we must do is ensure we are fair in the decisions we must take.

When the universal social charge was brought in by the previous Administration, we made changes to it subsequently to ensure fairness. There is no Government, Minister for Finance, politician or person who wishes to have these difficult decisions to make. I suppose politicians by nature are optimistic and they also like to be bearers of good news. However, we will be measured, not perhaps in the immediate term but in the long term, by how we tackle the biggest economic decline that has happened, not alone in Ireland but in the world, since 1929.

Returning to the issue of the motion, many people found the charge unjust. However, we had developed a taxation system with the health levy, the unemployment levy and the income levy. We had a huge amount of levies at different stages. What we must do now is ensure that we make reforms of the taxation system, which no doubt will arise, simple and not have too many tags on different taxation. Taxation, irrespective of its type, is really a exercise for the Government so that it can generate revenue to provide services, such as in health, social welfare and education, for its people. Those are the simple facts. No doubt we must raise funds.

We have developed an excellent public service. We have developed an excellent service in health and education and, indeed, our welfare system, while it might be attacked on occasion, is better than those of several economies that would be competing with us or comparative economies.

While I welcome the decision to review it, Members have stated that they will abolish it. That is not being realistic because we must raise funds through the universal social charge and other taxation measures. All I ask of any review is that the system is as fair and as balanced as can be and protects the vulnerable. A society is measured by how it protects the most vulnerable and I sincerely hope that is an indication of it. I thank the Acting Chairman, Deputy Broughan, for the opportunity to speak on this matter.

See this speech in context