Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Since coming to power the Government's strategy has been to look for easy targets to raise tax revenue - ideally once it believes people will not notice. It raided private pensions for €460 million, but because people do not see it coming out of their disposable income the Government felt it would get away with it. It is now focusing on VAT, hoping people will not notice that either. The Minister may be trying to pass this off as simply an increase in tax on luxury items, but many everyday items on which families rely will increase in price as a result of this VAT increase, including such basic items as mobile and land line phone calls, adult clothing and footwear, car park charges, detergents, petrol, diesel, oil, prams, shampoo, soap and toothpaste, which are hardly luxury items.

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