Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

We have discussed many big issues this evening, but this is one of the mean and nasty ones - the Government is taxing the sick, those on illness benefit and occupational injury benefit. This affects people who through no fault of their own might have had an accident and are out from work for six, eight or ten weeks. There was another way to deal with it. If the Government was worried about people, who are being paid through a sick scheme by their employers, not having to pay any tax on the illness benefit or occupational injury benefit, it could have reduced the amount the employer could pay directly to that individual without the need for this House to tax sick people. Certainly more than 30,000 people are affected, and at €400 or €500 each, it brings the total up to approximately €13 million. It is mean and nasty to tax people who are sick. The Labour Party has scraped the bottom of the barrel on this issue.

See this speech in context