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

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on the Bill which I welcome wholeheartedly. I also welcome the general support the Bill has received from all sides of the House. I commend Deputy Eoghan Murphy for tabling the Bill into which he has put a great deal of work. It is important we have time to discuss it in detail. It is a very progressive Bill and represents a new departure in tax transparency in the State. Such a detailed breakdown as given in the example earlier by Deputy Eoghan Murphy would help ingrain in the national psyche the importance of focus on spending priorities in policy debate. It would lead to a better standard of debate prior to elections and between elections. It would also somewhat weaken the impact of out of context and disingenuous soundbites on various areas of expenditure. This is important as it would give us more perspective on how the Irish people's taxes are spent.

What Deputy Murphy proposes in the Bill represents a proactive effort by the State to inform the citizen. As a result of the legislation the State would be going to the citizen with this information and ensuring every citizen knows just how much of their tax money is being spent on various areas. It would bring politics back to the people and would be a real step forward and real progress. I support this.

I agree with Deputy Pearse Doherty that huge issues face the country. All 166 Members of the House want to help address and fix these issues as quickly as possible. However, what Deputy Doherty missed is the fact that initiatives such as the Bill represent thinking outside the box and would help revolutionise how politics are conducted in the country and how we govern. This would help the change agenda because it would help us look at politics from a different perspective. It would erode much of the populism we hear on expenditure debates. It would give concrete facts to the people. This is very important and we need more of it.

Deputy Boyd Barrett spoke about people who do not pay income tax. I acknowledge this might be a problem in this context but perhaps it could be easily dealt with through simply including with the tax transparency receipt a general breakdown of how taxes are spent at national level.

This should also include a breakdown of taxes raised through measures such as VAT, corporation tax, excise duty and other taxes to which everybody, including those who do not pay income tax, is subject on a day-to-day basis. That degree of inclusivity would be particularly useful and is something that might be considered at a later stage. A generic receipt of the type envisaged would not necessitate a substantial expenditure for the Exchequer, which is, as in all matters, an important consideration. I am sure a mechanism can be devised to make it as affordable as possible while at the same time ensuring the information received is of the highest quality. In the example given from the United Kingdom the cost was 26p, which is a very small price to pay for such important information. It is a very small price for an initiative which could well change the direction of policy discussion in this country.

It is essential that we have full transparency and accountability, as well as common sense and responsibility, in terms of how citizens' tax contributions are spent. Without that type of transparency, our national recovery process cannot continue. Taxpayers must have absolute faith in how their money is being spent and confidence that those charged with spending it are carrying out their role responsibly. The Bill represents another step in this Government's efforts to change how we do business. In addition to the requirements of transparency, accountability, sensibility and responsibility, this Bill brings an important perspective in its own right in the area of public discourse.

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