Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have to say, with respect to whoever drafted the Minister's response, that it does not address the question I asked in any way. I asked whether a distributional analysis clarifying who is being asked to bear the highest burden will be provided by the Ministers, Deputies Howlin and Noonan, and their Cabinet colleagues when they come in here on budget day to propose a draft budget to the Dáil for its consideration. I am aware that the Labour Party espouses a budgetary approach that asks those who have the least to carry the least burden. The problem is that the latest analysis, which came months after we had to vote on the budget, suggests that the last few budgets have been regressive and those who have the least have been asked to bear the highest burden. The analysis I am calling for is becoming common practice around the world. It has been successfully implemented in Scotland. I propose that a distributional analysis, setting out how each of the income deciles, each of the two genders and each of the age groups would be affected by the budget if it were to be voted through, should be brought to the Dáil for its consideration. That would put the Dáil and the public in a better position to examine and query the budget proposal being made.

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