Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said he was concerned about the possibility of a court case, and he wants to be able to demonstrate that there is still an emergency and that the legislation is necessary as of now. His actions in government on budget day demonstrated that there is no financial emergency. It is not possible to reconcile tax cuts for the highest earners in Ireland, as was signalled on budget day and as discussed in Finance Bill that has been going through the House yesterday and today, with a financial emergency. The actions of the Government have shown there is no financial emergency. If there was, the Government could not be giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in Ireland, which is what it is doing in the Finance Bill. The Minister's actions show that he cannot justify his position that there is a financial emergency when the Government is looking after the wealthy and there is talk of the possibility of water subsidies for millionaires in the ether this morning. He has shown that the emergency is over, and he should deal with the legislation.

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