Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will step aside from the detail of this Bill because so much has been stated by other Deputies. Instead, I will take a step back to 9 March 2011, the day this Dáil convened. I will quote Deputy Enda Kenny's 2 p.m. acceptance speech on his nomination as Taoiseach. He stated:

I am mindful of the task we begin, that of rescuing our economy, resuscitating our reputation and restoring our society. Also, because we stand on the threshold of fundamental change ... I do not say this to be negative or excusing but to be real and true, to tell the truth of the Ireland of today ... That our lives and futures are predicated on one thing is true. That is why today I enter into a covenant with the Irish people. In these times of crisis, full of many unknowns, honesty is not alone our best policy but our only policy. The new Government will tell the people the truth regardless of how unwelcome or difficult that might be. We will tell it constantly and unreservedly. It is the only way because the people always have a right to know. I use the word "covenant" over "pledge" and "promise" because I believe the old ways of politics damaged us not alone financially, but emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. The word "covenant" restores a sense of heart, soul and spirit to leadership and our shared national life ... Our programme for Government is ambitious, fair and truly radical. [Where is the evidence of this?] The Government and the people, working hard and side by side in each other's interests, will achieve their objectives and because no party has a monopoly on good ideas, we will, in the spirit of inclusiveness and generosity which we want to bring to this Dáil and our Republic, collaborate and work wherever and whenever possible with Members of the Opposition in the interests of our country and people. [Where is the evidence of this?]

This is our country. This is our journey. Yes, we are in times without precedent but I believe that for Ireland this current crisis is the darkest hour before the dawn, that we have a generational lightness of soul, that in the long Hibernian nights on the western edge of Europe we remembered the light that went before, imagined the light to come. We are a people looking always and ever to the possibilities of a new day. That new day is here, a bright new day where there is no gap, where the people and its Government are one again, a day when our people are united in cause. Seamus Heaney said: "You have to try to make sense of what comes, remember everything and keep your head." We will. Together and for our country let us believe in our future. For Ireland and each other, let us lift up our heads, turn our faces to the sun and, as has been already said, hang out our brightest colours. This is the first day of a journey to a better future. That future will be achievable when Ireland can again take charge of its own destiny, when by the centenary of the 1916 Rising we can prove to be the best small country in the world in which to do business, to raise a family and to grow old with dignity and respect.

Budget 2014 does nothing to put the Taoiseach's last four lines into reality. The evidence is that our society has become more polarised. An article by Vincent Browne in today's edition of The Irish Times shows how "Love/Hate", the programme everyone is talking about, is an expression - at one level only - of great hurt in our society.

The establishment is where the levers of power and influence reside. There has not been a fair distribution and sharing of the country's resources. Corporate taxation has got off too lightly. Despite there being €70 billion in profits among companies, mainly in the multinational corporation and foreign direct investment, FDI, categories, only €4 billion has been paid in taxes. This represents an effective rate of 6.5%, not 12.5%. Someone might claim that reported profits are different from tax assessable profits, but it is the companies that are reporting these profits.

If that is what they say they are earning, that is what they should be taxed on. It is simple but we allow ourselves to be confused by the experts. Earlier today, the Taoiseach dismissed the idea of experts but the Government has had its preferred and highly paid experts. We can number them on the fingers of one hand or maybe two and they have received millions in fees. They are the only experts that seem to have a monopoly of wisdom and insight.

People in their seventies and older deserve respect; they deserve to be embraced. Corporations and companies who profited from their work should be paying society the necessary resources to look after such people's needs.

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