John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

He asked several times for the abolition of commercial rates and said they should be based on a fairer system. Perhaps he is correct, but he did ask for their abolition none the less. He stressed the fact that too much emphasis was being put on IDA-related employment by the Government and bemoaned the fact that it cost €13,000 to create an IDA-supported job. A job is a job, and whether it is created by a foreign company or domestically, it is welcome. However, the figures tell a different story. The vast majority of jobs created here in this economy in the past four years have not been created by foreign direct investment companies or IDA-supported companies but by Irish companies. I agree with his request that more emphasis be placed on regional development. I think everybody would agree with that particular request.

I welcome the introduction of the Bill. I was struck by Deputy Robert Troy's initial comment. He said he could not support it, having posed the question of whether the rates system could be more fair and equitable. One could criticise the Bill for many reasons, but it will make the rates system more fair and more equitable. It may not make it fair enough and equitable enough but it is an improvement on the existing system. I loved studying economics during my time in college. One of the basic tenets of a taxation system is that it be fair and equitable. The main provisions of the Bill are about making it easier to gather information and streamlining the appeals process. That is welcome, and it makes the system more fair and equitable.

I welcome particularly the exemption for not-for-profit child care facilities. Like Deputy Robert Troy, I receive many communications from facilities in my constituency wishing to have that provision included. I welcome also the exemption from rates for sports facilities. We have all been extensively lobbied by community sports bodies in our constituencies. That the provision is included makes sense. Charges for rates should never have been levelled on non-commercial activities.

My county colleague Deputy John McGuinness, who contributed earlier, said the Bill did not go far enough. He said that those who argued against him would say that taxation rates should be higher. Far from it; those who argue against him agree that a level playing field, if members will pardon the pun, exists between sports clubs that provide bar facilities and the neighbouring family-run pub. He made the ludicrous proposal on the floor of the House earlier that a sports club should be charged a lower rate for its commercial bar than the family-run pub down the road in the same village. I did not think I would ever hear such nonsense in the House. I agreed with the overwhelming majority of what he said with regard to support for small business, but his proposal that a family-run business should be placed at a disadvantage vis-à-vis a sports club by allowing the club to pay a lower rate on its commercial activities beggars belief. Perhaps he will be in a position to clarify that at a later stage.

I wish to make one proposal to the Minister of State. It goes back to what Deputy Arthur Spring said and, in fairness, Deputy Robert Troy touched on it as well. I think there is an overwhelming case to be made in provincial Ireland for a provision for a holiday on commercial rates for premises that have reopened after being closed for six or 12 months, where a new business is starting. Obviously, this would have to be closely policed; it would have to be a new business getting on its feet and not a company moving for the sake of getting a rates holiday. Everybody I have heard speak on the legislation so far has mentioned the number of vacant premises. Some towns across the country are worse than others. We are fortunate enough in Kilkenny City. While there are a significant number of vacant premises in some parts of the town, the main thoroughfares are still fairly well occupied, although other parts of the country are devastated. A national initiative - it should not be left to local authorities - providing some type of a break for new businesses starting in premises that have been closed for six or 12 months should be considered.

I firmly believe - and always have - that the best way to help the country's economic growth to continue is to reduce taxes on income. I welcome the fact that in a recent announcement on national radio, the Taoiseach reaffirmed his position in that regard, in marked contrast to the Leader of the Opposition, who recently said, on RTE's "This Week", that he did not support a reduction in the universal social charge or in income but rather increased spending. Has Fianna Fáil learned nothing from its 14-year roller-coaster ride which brought the country to a very high point and then brought it to the depths of economic depression in recent years? He believes that taxes on people who are working should remain at their present level while we return to ramping up expenditure. There has to be a balance. There are certain sectors, such as health and education, where cutbacks have been so severe that there is a strong case to be made for increasing expenditure. I firmly believe that the top rate of income tax - in addition to the universal social charge, which means people are paying 50% to 52% of their income in tax - is penal. The Government's priority should be to reduce that significantly if it has sufficient funds. I believe it has to be done in a fair and equitable manner, linked directly to growth levels in the economy. I would encourage the Government to specifically put that into legislation so that if, in the future, Fianna Fáil and its friends end up back in Government, it cannot do the same wrecking act that it managed to do twice in my lifetime and, arguably, three or four times in the history of the State.

I welcome the main provisions of the Bill. I ask that some consideration be given to the proposal for a rates holiday, not only for provincial Ireland but any part of the country where premises have been closed for up to 12 months and where new businesses wish to open. This legislation might be right place for such a provision.

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