Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Táim fíor-buíoch as ucht an seans labhairt ar an ábhar an-tábhachtach seo inniu.

When the Government came to power in March 2011, it inherited an absolutely unprecedented mess. Efforts have been made to try to improve our overall economic position in the interim. However, the latter is proving very difficult. We should not forget how we got here and the responsibility which lies with the political system in this regard. For the sake of future generations, it is important that we should learn this lesson. We must continually remind ourselves of all the events which led us to the current pass. There must never be a recurrence of what happened in this country in recent years. We must take measures to ensure that there will be no such recurrence. Significant reform will, therefore, be required in the context of how this House - particularly with regard to how Members are elected - and the entire political system operate. I accept this may be a discussion for another day but I am of the view that it is important to outline the position.

One of my greatest concerns at present relates to the fact that almost 450,000 people are on the live register and that a huge number of individuals, mainly the young, are being forced to emigrate each day. This is completely unacceptable and, as a proud Irishman, it makes me very sad. The impact of what has happened in this country really hits home when I go on Facebook or Twitter and see so many of my friends and people with whom I grew up living in Australia, America or the UK. One of the fundamental concerns for Ireland, as a nation, must be to provide work for its people in order that they might remain in this country and build their lives here. That challenge must be taken up not only by the Government but also by every Member of this and the Upper House. We need to put our shoulders to the wheel in respect of this matter because what is happening at present is heartbreaking and it must not be allowed to continue.

In the context of trying to grow the economy and create jobs, I am concerned that domestic demand will remain weak as long as there are a number of negative adjustment budgets in our future. This is a major problem and the Government must give serious consideration to introducing measures that will accelerate the corrective process relating to our finances. At the same time, it must be extremely careful not to implement any measures that would be deflationary or that would push us over the tipping point. As long as we are facing into three, four or five years of adjustments, demand and confidence will remain poor and, as a previous speaker indicated, we will continue to roll along the bottom. This is no way to try to grow an economy. We must, therefore, contemplate some of the low-hanging fruit that is still there to be plucked and be imaginative in the context of the budgetary process.

I had occasion recently to consider some statistics in the context of areas in which additional revenue could be generated through the adoption of certain taxation measures. I refer, for example, to the €525 million that is currently being paid - through the universal social charge - by those who earn over €200,000 per year.

There may be more leeway to collect additional revenue for the State. For example, I do not know of anyone earning more than €200,000 who is cold or hungry at night, who cannot afford oil for this or her home heating tank or who cannot afford to feed his or her children. Such individuals should be considered. More than €900 million is generated from those earning over €100,000. However, those earning €200,000 - equal to €4,000 a week gross, a very significant income - generate €525 million in taxes and perhaps there might be scope to get more from this group.

The issue of corporation tax was raised by speakers. The rate of corporation tax cannot be touched because it would be a negative move given the potential to attract foreign direct investment. There may be some leeway with regard to the very generous allowances currently paid in that sector such as capital allowances which cost the State €1.55 billion last year.

All of these measures need to be examined. Every euro we can collect by means of fair and just taxation measures is one that will not need to be taken from the allocation to fund somebody's home help or personal assistant's hours or to provide services for a person with a disability. Such cuts are unacceptable. Therefore, we need to look at alternatives. However, talk of alternative taxation measures is not popular, but we have to do this because of the mess in which we find ourselves. The quicker we can achieve fiscal rectitude, the quicker we can grow the economy, create jobs and bring our young people home to their native country from all over the world.

I wish the Minister for Finance and his team well in the preparation of the budget. It is not easy to cover all aspects in five minutes. A significant challenge faces us and we must all contribute in a positive and constructive manner. This is not the time for negative politics or scoring political points. It is a national emergency and we all need to step up to the mark.

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