Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It refers to business assets. Does that include all such assets? It refers to pension pots. Does that include all pension pots? Up to 20% of the family home is also left out. What remains? What would Sinn Féin tax to get a revenue of €800 million from this so-called wealth tax? Who is it fooling?

By the way, we will be discussing the property tax on Friday. We now know that Sinn Féin is in favour of taxing 80% of the family home. That was the balance, last time I looked, between 20% and 100%. Now it would appear Sinn Féin is 80% in favour of a property tax.

It is utterly false to suggest we have not protected the weak in this difficult budget. That is precisely what we have done. It is false to say that we have not taxed wealth or that the wealthy elite have escaped, as Deputy Ó Caoláin was suggesting earlier, although that was a point lost on Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn last night. He announced to the Dáil that his party was opposed to the DIRT proposals contained in the budget measures and that it would vote against them. Check the record.

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