Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise. I will not get a chance to read my script. Perhaps you are lucky, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

It is a good yardstick of the progress that has been made in a short period. Deputy Boyd Barrett said he is seeking default as an alternative approach. I heard him say in the course of the debate on the fiscal treaty that he believed it was possible to obtain an extra €10 billion in new taxes next year. I hoped he would come to the House this afternoon and set out in a clear practical way how it could be obtained. I heard a lot of noise from him and much discussion about wealth taxes, taxing those earning more than €100,000 and forgetting about everyone else but I did not hear a specific proposal. There is a responsibility on all Members of this House, be they Independents or Members of small or large parties, to produce documents on what they would do in terms of tax and expenditure. It would also be useful for the fiscal council to comment on those documents in the same way it comments in a credible and coherent way on Government proposals. If we want a proper, functioning Parliament where people’s views are taken seriously, they must be confronted by the reality of the situation. There must be serious engagement. I put it to all political parties to produce their pre-budget submission. We will examine them in an open and coherent way.

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