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

I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate, as I have a number of points to make. It is inevitable, when €3.5 billion is taken through tax rises and expenditure reduction, that it will be difficult for our people. That is on top of the fact that since 2008, €24.5 billion in tax rises and expenditure cuts have occurred. We must focus on the remarks of the Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. When this budget is in play next year through a finance Act and social welfare Act, some 85% of the adjustment required to get the deficit to 3% by 2015 will have occurred. The House must be clear about that.

I wish to say to the Irish people that there is light at the end of the tunnel and we are getting to the last furlong of this race. It has been a torturous process for our citizens, whether they live on their own or as part of a family. The most difficult part of the race is for the 300,000 people who have lost their jobs since the collapse of this economy under Fianna Fáil, and that is where we must focus. We must get back to a state of creating and sustaining jobs.

The comments of my colleague, Deputy McEntee, have highlighted the very progressive and innovative ideas now taking root in agriculture that will spur the agricultural food industry. The ten-point action plan announced by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, has made the cornerstone of this budget the small and medium enterprise sector, which employs 70% of all workers within the country. The only way out of this is getting employment back to previous levels, and that is the only way to provide the funds needed for public services.

I will speak to the taxation system in the short time I have today. Despite the polemics, Punch and Judy antics and hyped comment made on all sides of the House, I ask Members to read annexe F in the budget documents submitted to the House by the Minister for Finance yesterday. Within annexe F, it can be seen that the Irish tax system is the most progressive taxation system of the 27 member states of the European Union; I am making that claim in the House today. A European Commission study indicates that since the adjustment process began in 2008, 30% of the overall adjustment has been borne by the richest 10% in this society, with 70% borne by the richest four income groups within the society. The ESRI report highlights that from 2008 to 2012, the greatest losses in the period were for those with higher incomes, with the smallest losses for those on low incomes. An OECD report on taxing wedges indicates that from 164 countries, Ireland has the second most progressive taxation system.

Those opposite have put the charge to this Government that we have not introduced progressive taxation measures during the course of budgets. Those with the biggest incomes have borne the most, and the top 10% of income earners in this society pay 60% of all tax. Some 70% of people in our country have incomes of €50,000 or less and they pay 19% of all income tax. That is the way it should be. Yesterday's measures included increases in capital taxation, deposit interest retention tax, capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax. There was an extension of PRSI to unearned income, including consultancy, rent and the like. There was also the extension of the universal social charge to older citizens with very substantial pensions.

These are examples of the continuation of a progressive budget where those who have more would pay more. Ultimately, this budget will only be determined on the ability of our Government and the country to get people back to work. It can sometimes be appalling to listen to the Opposition as every time the Taoiseach makes a positive jobs announcement, such as recent announcements about PayPal, Paddy Power or Google, the heads of those opposite drop because they do not want to hear about it. For them, the perpetual Punch and Judy Ballymagash politics continues, where good news for this country about foreign direct investment can be pilloried.

I ask the Opposition to work with the Government as we attempt to get Ireland out of a hole and the legacy in which we were landed by the previous Administration. In that regard I believe the measures obtained in this budget will once again highlight the progressive nature of our taxation system and the fairness through which adjustments are being borne.

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