Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

The domestic economy is on its knees. People's spending power has been demolished and today the Government has added to the mess by cutting it more. Less money in people's pockets means less money in tills, and less money in tills means fewer jobs. It is a vicious cycle, which is why we proposed measures such as a wealth tax, a third rate of income tax on earned income over €100,000 and abolishing the universal social charge.

The Government has set itself numerical targets which cannot be reached because it does not factor in the effects its bad policy has on economic activity. I want to deal with some of the specifics of these bad policy measures. I do not know whether I am the only person in the State who remembers the five point plan. Does the Taoiseach remember it?

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