John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am loth to compliment Deputy Eoghan Murphy because he has been receiving nothing but compliments this morning. I commend him on introducing the Bill and making use of the opportunity for backbenchers to table legislation. There can be no more fundamental discussion than parliamentarians discussing information on taxation and how people's hard-earned money is spent by the Government. I fully support anything that sheds light on the topic.

I will comment on certain aspects of the Bill and my comments will echo some of the sentiments expressed by previous speakers. Deputy Durkan referred to Members who expressed the opinion that the moneys to run the country would come from somewhere. We have heard similar expressions over the past 18 months and before. The basic duty of the Government, which this Government is acting upon, is that it lives within its means so that we do not live beyond our means at present, resulting in burdening future generations with huge levels of borrowing that they must fund. This results in the Government having many difficult decisions in the run-up to the budget, as it had last December. It is right that the State tries to balance its books and ensures expenditure matches income in so far as possible. That is the difficulty in which the Government finds itself.

This is a useful discussion because any light that can be given to taxpayers, in respect of the money they contribute to the coffers of the State through the Revenue Commissioners, is welcome. Deputy Durkan expressed reservations about part of the legislation. It is up to the people to decide they do not like how certain aspects of their taxes are being spent if the information is made available. That is politics and the opportunity to not like where the money is being spent is represented in the ballot box. The purpose of the legislation is to ensure the choices are clearly presented to people, which is why I support it.

For the first time in the Chamber, I confess to being a user of the dreaded tobacco weed. The legislation refers to the possibility of an online calculator to provide an estimate of the amount of revenue people contribute through VAT. That is a good idea and, as a smoker, I contribute through duties and levies above and beyond what I contribute through income tax.

This discussion took place recently in the neighbouring jurisdiction. I did not hear Deputy Eoghan Murphy's opening contribution so I do not know if Britain introduced legislation in line with his proposal, whereby full disclosure of how people's taxes are spent is part of the law. I am aware the discussion took place 12 months ago. It is worth pointing out the various initiatives taken by the Government since coming to office. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, outlined the comprehensive expenditure report last year and, this week, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, launched Ireland Stat, which puts in the public domain information that was previously unavailable. Discussion on legislation such as this could prompt more disclosure by Departments and agencies. It can never be a bad thing that taxpayers have full information on where the money they contribute goes. That is why I support the Bill.

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