Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

It has been stated already but it is worth repeating that the manner in which this Bill is being brought through the House is reminiscent of the previous Government. We were told by those in the current Government that this was to change, that they would do things differently and that there would be no guillotines. However, the guillotine will apply to this Bill as it will to other Bills between now and the Christmas recess.

Another feature of the background to this Bill is the same austerity policy of the previous Government being carried on by a new Government whose Ministers promised that everything would be different and that vulnerable people would be protected. In fact we have had a change of faces but the same policy of protecting the rich and powerful in this society while fleecing middle and lower income people and social welfare recipients. It is a policy of making vulnerable people pay for a recession in which they had no hand, act or part in creating.

This is nothing new. Those of us who were around for the PAYE tax marches some years ago will remember that we were told day after day that there was no pot of gold. Lo and behold there was a vast pot of gold and a golden circle of rich and powerful people who fleeced the country at the time. They allowed hospitals to be closed and they stashed away their cash, as they put it in the television gameshow, everywhere and anywhere including in overseas accounts, through DIRT avoidance and by other conduct to ensure they did not pay their fair share. What happened then? They were rewarded for not paying their fair share by tax amnesty after tax amnesty which allowed them to get off scot free. Lo and behold the worst tax amnesty of all was introduced while the Labour Party was in government. Not only did those affected not pay penalties or interest on tax but they received a tax cut as well.

Nowadays, we have a similar situation. We are being told day after day that the country is bust, broke and that we have no money. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is one of the richest countries in the world. The difficulty is there is a great inequality in the distribution of wealth. A recent independent report from the heart of the capitalist system, the Credit Suisse global wealth report of November 2011, informed us that the richest 1% of the population in this country own 28.1% of the wealth, amounting to €131.5 billion. The wealthiest 5% own 46% of the wealth or €219.3 billion. Moreover, in the past two years and in the teeth of the recession of 2009 and 2010 the same people made an additional €46 billion. These are not my figures. The initial figures are from the Credit Suisse bank and the figure of €46 billion is from the Central Statistics Office. Again, these wealthy people are getting off scot free.

The Bill was an ideal opportunity to introduce a wealth or assets tax, an ideal opportunity to tax high earners, those earning more than €100,000 per year, an opportunity to tax property exiles and an opportunity to raise vast revenues. There is an opportunity under these three taxes to raise something of the order of €17 billion in one year, made up of €10 billion from the asset or wealth tax, some €5 billion from incomes greater than €100,000 and a further €2 billion from tax exiles. This is the way to ensure that we put people back to work and to ensure that the recession is beaten. People with vast amounts of money must pay their fair share and it is about time such people showed some patriotism. Further, it is about time this Government ensured they showed such patriotism by introducing some of these measures in the Bill.

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