Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Thomas P. Broughan and Róisín Shortall for sharing time with me.

I have an important question to ask about the budget. What advantages do self-employed persons who earn more than €100,000 enjoy when compared to those in the PAYE sector who earn more than €100,000? The Minister for Finance, the Secretary General of the Department and the chief executive of Irish Water will all pay the universal social charge at a rate of 8%, whereas self-employed persons on salaries in excess of €100,000 will pay the charge at a rate of 11%. What advantage do self-employed persons have over PAYE earners? Is there a belief that the former can avail of tax avoidance schemes? While most of these schemes have been removed, they were open to everyone. Is the Minister sending the unhealthy message that those who are self-employed may be involved in tax evasion? It is easy for the Minister for Finance to try to paper over various issues when he has €500 million or €600 million to throw around.

Deputy Róisín Shortall referred to the spin associated with the budget. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform engaged in a classic example of spin yesterday when he announced that he was increasing the allocation to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to €221 million, a €4 million increase on the previous year's allocation. He then stated capital funding for the Department would be €61 million - the figure should have been €62 million, but there was a typographical error in the text - which constitutes a decrease of €4 million on the allocation for the previous year. While the overall budget for the Department remained the same, it was presented in a manner that gave the incorrect impression that funding for it had increased. It was not necessary to engage in this spin.

Deputy Róisín Shortall referred to the various examples provided in the book compiled by the Department, one of which was related to a family with three young children on an income of €55,000 per annum. The family had a medical card. I am not sure how many families with three children and an income of €55,000 have a medical card, but I will table a parliamentary question to the Minister to ascertain the correct figure is because I am not aware of many such cases. It is important that any example provided is practical and applies across the board.

The 2014 budget sent a message to elderly people that they were not valued, even if the measures it introduced did not save much money. The 2015 budget sends a message to the self-employed earning more than €100,000 per annum, a significant sum, I admit, and those who earn more than €70,000 that they are the go-to bank for compensating for the Government's failure to properly implement policy. Irish Water is a good example of this failure. The company has lost the confidence of the entire population, as opposed to any one group, because it is viewed as a bureaucratic monster that must be fed. The Government must address this issue.

The concept of water charges was sold on two premises. People were told that an adequate amount of water would be provided free of charge to meet their basic needs. This has not occurred. They were also told that they were paying for water already. If that is the case, how are they being reimbursed? Until such time as these two issues have been addressed, water charges will remain a major problem. Charging for water should not create problems because most people believe abuse of the system should attract additional charges and meters are needed to this end. However, members of the public do not have any confidence in the system that has been introduced.

While I welcome some of the measures included in the budget, I cannot overstate the importance of the message being sent to those who create wealth by taking risks. Despite having access to few protections, they are not valued to the same extent as others. Irish people are happy to see individuals who go out to work being rewarded and they want to provide for those who are vulnerable or suffer from illness. However, they do not want people to engage in scams. In its efforts to address populist issues the Government has forgotten those who do a hard day's work and appears to be facilitating those who do not pull their weight.

On the measures announced for the agriculture sector, I welcome the changes in capital gains tax and stamp duty as they will help the development of agriculture. I regret, however, that the investment incentive scheme has not been extended to County Wicklow. I call on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Employment, Deputy Richard Bruton, to review the position. He should also consider the inclusion of Bray in the scheme that applies to the refurbishment of Georgian houses, especially as the town has many more houses that qualify as Georgian than Kilkenny city, for example. I do not know the reason a differentiated approach has been taken to the scheme. I tabled an amendment on the issue last year and will do so again this year.

The Minister might explain what advantage self-employed persons who earn €100,000 have over and above the Secretary General of the Department of Finance and the Minister for Finance.

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