Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy made the point so I will respond to it. I am not sure whether he is addressing his comments to the Government or the ASTI. I regret that the ASTI is taking action. It is regrettable that the students from Deputy Fleming's constituency cannot visit the House. The ASTI is the only union outside the Haddington Road agreement. I would ask it to reconsider and allow the Haddington Road agreement to impact beneficially on many of its younger members but that is something it will have to reflect on.

In respect of the progressivity of the budget, one cannot take a snapshot. If one has maximised the income take so that the marginal rate is now one of the highest, can one keep going? One can be more progressive each time but in relative terms, if one already has the most progressive income tax system, one cannot keep pushing it up to suit an additional snapshot. The Deputy is making a very fair point. We need a better and more accurate snapshot because many things that are looked at under the current switch system do not take account of capital gains adjustments and other factors which impact on the totality of the budget. One needs to look at the entire tax package, not the minor adjustment that is made at budget time, to see whether it is progressive as it sits with other taxation regimes. It is a simple song to sing but it is an inaccurate song to sing if one does not have accurate tools to measure the totality of the tax and welfare provisions in a society.

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