Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Leas-Cheann Comhairle might tell me when I have two minutes remaining.

I also very much welcome the opportunity to speak on this year's Finance Bill. This continues a succession of measures over the past couple of years to restore the economic prospects of the country. On the deal on the promissory note - there was much discussion about whether it was sustainable debt - it is probably true to say it was unsustainable and now has moved to a far more sustainable level. Our foreign direct investment sector remains strong and we have a balance of payments level that would be the envy of most countries.

Mention was made by Members from Sinn Féin about stimulus and austerity. This year, we are injecting a huge stimulus by way of €15 billion, which will be reduced to €12 billion over time. That, by any measure, is a stimulus. It is a borrowed stimulus.

The rule that Sinn Féin seems to not wish ever to accept is a simple rule of economics, that over time income and expenditure must balance out. That is not the same as austerity. It is a simple rule that applies to every household, business and economy. It is a very difficult path because we were spending beyond our means, but there is no other option. There is no silver bullet.

While some of the sectors of the economy are showing signs of improvement and strengthening, the one area which gives rise to the most concern and which needs the most urgent address by the Government is the area of domestic demand, which remains very weak. There are measures, such as the increase in deposit interest retention tax, to stimulate spending but it is the challenge for all of us over the next couple of years to look at measures whereby we can increase domestic demand. There has never been such a level of domestic saving in the country.

While many people are certainly in very difficult banking circumstances and have a large amount of debt, there has never been so much money held on deposit in our banks. We need to consider creative measures to incentivise people through the tax code or the VAT code to encourage them to take some of the money they have on deposit and spend it in the domestic economy. I believe this could be targeted particularly in areas such as construction that have high levels of employment and where the services are predominantly provided by indigenous and Irish owned companies. For example, Canada has schemes whereby an amount of value added tax can be reclaimed for spending within certain parameters and on a certain scale, and indeed when the businesses engaged in the provision of those services also qualify by virtue of tax clearance and employment levels.

Two further areas need to be addressed. In Dublin and in Cork and even in smaller cities like Limerick it is hard to believe there is the possibility of a shortage of large office space. While two or three years ago this would have seemed a ridiculous suggestion, we may need to consider introducing some tax incentives and using publicly owned land for the provision of large office space. In my city of Cork some very large office space has all been filled, thankfully, for which IDA Ireland, in particular, deserves great credit.

We need to consider how the valuations for property tax will apply to houses that have been affected by flooding. This is not just an issue in Cork, although in my constituency areas such as Blackpool, Ballyvolane, Glanmire and other areas are affected. It also affects Dublin and other parts of the country. A valuation for a house that has been flooded is different from the exact same house perhaps in the exact same suburb that is not subject to a flood risk. Owners of such houses cannot receive insurance. When deciding the valuation of a property, account needs to be taken of it being subject to flood risk while flood remedial works may be due to take place in the future. If a house cannot get insurance as it is subject to flooding, its valuation cannot be deemed to be the same as a similar property perhaps in a very similar location. The matter was raised by Deputy Donohoe from Dublin Central earlier and while it will not affect a vast amount of properties, for the people involved it is a very serious issue.

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