Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the commencement of Report Stage. The only point I would make on amendment No. 1 in the name of Deputy Doherty is that if one is conducting an analysis of the impact of the budget - I assume that is the spirit in which this amendment has been tabled - then the Finance Bill does not represent the totality of those measures. If one is looking at the impact on every income group, then one would also need to take into account the changes in the social welfare code announced on budget day, the household charge, motor taxation increases and so forth.

While I support the spirit of the amendment, my concern is that it does not represent the totality of the budget package as it affects ordinary citizens. If we are to put the Minister and his officials to the trouble of doing a report, then it should take account of the entire picture and all of the impacts of the various elements of the budget on incomes groups.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn is correct in the overall point he made about the regressive nature of the budget which was a claim we made on budget day and which was subsequently supported by the ESRI and others. As was pointed out by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, on Committee Stage, when one takes all the budgets since the fiscal retrenchment process commenced back in 2008, then they have been highly progressive but this particular one was not and that has been established.

See this speech in context