Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise another issue that has developed over the past week or two. In recent weeks, the Taoiseach, along with the Tánaiste, held out the possibility of tax cuts, as he said, as the Government finances improve. It would be a miracle of convenience if the scope of such tax cuts became apparent in the run-up to the general election. Such a cynical return to auction politics would surely fly in the face of everything the Government claims it stands for.

The debate on tax cuts has begun and a conversation has started. The tax cuts are being presented as necessary to give middle-income Ireland a break, but who precisely is middle-income Ireland, and will cuts in income tax benefit anyone to any great extent? I refer the Taoiseach to the Quarterly Economic Observer from the Nevin Economic Research Institute, which was produced last week, based on the CSO's 2009 survey on income and living standards, which throws up some important facts, the most important of which is that there is now no middle-income Ireland. What exists is a vast army of poorly paid working people struggling to make ends meet. The average household disposable income after tax, PRSI and universal social charge is €46,000. Some 56% of householders have gross income of €10,000 to €50,000. There are 2 million adults with disposable incomes of less than €500 per week and more than 500,000 are on less than €200 per week. Only 30% of households have a gross income of over €70,000. Income tax cuts would benefit this layer but would do nothing for most households.

Does the Taoiseach agree that what is required to give people a break is not a cynical political stunt by the Government on income tax cuts but a pay increase, particularly for the low paid, an increase in the minimum wage, strong wage floors in the revamped joint labour committees, and affordable child care? A 50% reduction in costs would give more families an extra €50 a week. These are the things that can be done.

Is the Taoiseach prepared to look at these rather than introducing cynical tax cuts? In the debate on tax cuts, VAT has not been mentioned once, even though it obviously would have been of most benefit to those with the least.

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