Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Members should listen to the facts. Our adjustment has been a difficult one, but it has been a fair one. Those with the most have given the most. Income inequality after taxes and social transfers has reduced during the crisis in Ireland. The progressivity of our income tax system means we have been one of the most effective countries in the OECD at reducing inequality. To ignore this fact and to point to income inequality before tax transfers is to ignore the central role of any Government, to protect the most vulnerable of our citizens.

The best weapon against inequality is not social welfare. It is decent jobs and fair wages. A fair society is one where those who work hard receive decent rewards. One of the first acts of this Government was to reverse-----

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