Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Those assets cannot be sold or used to generate an income other than the income that is already being derived from them. It is wrong of the Minister to continue as he has been. Regardless of an individual's background, be it self-employed or farming, his or her income is based on the returns submitted to the Revenue Commissioners. This is the only fair and equitable method and is the approach taken in respect of PAYE workers. I do not accept that we can have a different set of rules for the self-employed. I take the Minister's point that there may be a greater number of people in the self-employed sector than there is in the farming sector, but many of them are small business owners who are under severe financial pressure in the current climate. Farming is enjoying a relatively positive phase in its economic cycle but for the past five to seven years farmers were put to the pin of their collar and were losing money. It would be more beneficial to concentrate on verifiable incomes as provided to the Revenue Commissioners rather than seek to impose penalties based on the value of assets.

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