Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A recent Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, report was unambiguous in stating that cuts in the top rates of tax or in the universal social charge would have a strong impact on households with incomes in the top 10%, but little effect on households at low and middle income levels. Despite that, this is the Government's stated position in the run-up to this year's budget. It is hardly news and is simply a long-established fact that the ESRI analysis of last year's budget showed that the bottom 40% were poorer as a result of the Minister's measures. Will the Minister take a step back and, in his budget planning, will he instead target policy to reduce and not increase economic inequality?

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