Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to support this Bill because I do not believe there is any regulatory impact assessment of public spending and, as for all the Bills being passed in this Chamber, one is more draconian than the next. I saw when, under the late Brian Lenihan, the Oireachtas introduced a pension levy on everyone from the bottom up. However, it was reversed for the senior civil servants and they got away with it.

I believe there is a cartel in the public service that has its hands on the power and is associated with Ministers. It does not care about the ordinary people. It not care about Tony Rochford or people like him who are self-employed who pay their taxes. He is now on hunger strike and in a very serious situation because of what I believe, as a self-employed person, is an anomaly in the Bill. A section of the Bill states that he cannot get his C2 certificate because he did not pay his property tax. I paid my property tax. I had no problem with that even though I believe it is unjust but this man did not pay it and now he is being penalised. He is not allowed work. He is self-employed. An 8% rebate is total robbery. It is blackguarding self-employed people. It is twice that of what applies to PAYE people, which I do not agree with either in the way it is taken out of their wages.

I am looking across at a Labour Minister of State and I see Labour Deputies who talk about standing up for ordinary people and small business people, the backbone of this country. This man wants to pay for his family and earn his keep but this was rushed past him. The property tax was rushed through this House. Despite what the Taoiseach said, it was an unjust and unfair measure in terms of a person's home. This man wants to do work. He had his C2 and was tax compliant but now he cannot do anything because he has not paid the property tax. That is a disastrous law. I know the Government must try to collect it whatever way it can and I do not mind if the full amount of property tax is taken out of a self-employed person's business but I have a huge problem with not giving him a C2, not allowing him do his VAT returns and putting him out of business. Furthermore, if he has no business, he will not get any unemployment benefit or assistance. It is a perilous situation that has driven him to the gates of these Houses on hunger strike for 17 days.

I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, to bring some sanity to the situation. Legislation was rushed through this House and guillotines were used and what is the Government doing? Abolishing the Seanad when we could better scrutinise legislation. I ask her to consider these issues because there is no proof-reading of legislation. It is just tax, tax, tax, cut, cut and cut and attack the ordinary people.

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