Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister made the point that Ireland is a small open economy with a heavy concentration of foreign direct investment. We acknowledge that there is a heavy concentration of foreign direct investment, but does the Minister not think that one of these days we will have to put a bit more thought and investment into indigenous industry rather than be forever dependent on strangers?

The Minister referred to the importance of low corporation tax to encourage growth. The sad part of that is the fact that large business pays less tax now than it used to. A frightening statistic is that the corporation tax paid in the late 1940s in America represented seven times more of the overall tax take than it does now. There is a race to the bottom, where we are all competing to create employment and to attract companies which will create employment. It is almost a case of having to pay companies to come into the country to provide employment.

We have to ask ourselves what sort of world we want to live in. I accept that things are not much different, in lots of ways, anywhere else, but there is a problem. Society is organised in such a way that, whether we like it, there will always be a lot of people who will need help from those who can give it. Society breaks down if we do not care about the people who are in difficulty and need our help. Some of us are in a better position to look after ourselves than others. No Government can do that without a healthy tax take from those who can afford to pay.

We discussed the lack of social housing earlier, something which is causing incredible problems. Social housing depends on Government spending. We accept that money does not grow on trees, but I cannot for the life of me understand why the EU does not encourage states to invest in infrastructure without placing a financial burden on the books. The Minister is under pressure, given the 3% rules, but I find it incredible that the EU does not change that structure so that infrastructure is something that all states are encouraged to engage in.

The fact that we do not have a child care system creates serious inequality and means that, to a great degree, women remain second class citizens. A child care system like that in Germany would be revolutionary for Ireland and would make a wonderful and positive difference. It would be worth anything.

We all recognise that serious inequality is a problem for all of us, even those with loads of money in their pockets. There are more problems to deal with, higher walls need to be built, more money needs to be spent on security and there is more fear because those who have nothing will be encouraged to take from those who have. It is in the interests of all of us to make sure that everybody is in a better place, and that requires more of a tax take. I would be in favour of increasing corporation tax from 12.5% to 15%, and I do not think American companies would flee the country.

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