Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This issue was debated quite a bit during the general election campaign and while there is variance in the programme for Government, it seems the Government is still committed to abolishing or phasing out the USC instead of looking at the issue of tax credits. The Minister is aware from parliamentary questions we have put to him over quite a period now that we have been examining the issue of tax credits while leaving the USC in place.

I believe abolishing the USC is a reckless proposal. We will have opportunities to debate this issue during the Finance Bill and throughout the period leading to the budget. Fine Gael says we can afford to abolish it but we cannot afford it. There is ample evidence across the State to show we cannot afford it. While Fianna Fáil present's the Fine Gael plan as reckless and its plan as great, the idea of taking €3 billion a year out of the tax net through its plan is equally reckless. The Fine Gael plan is just a bit worse. We cannot afford this.

It is actually quite funny to listen to both parties talk about how we need to invent special vehicles so we can spend more money on social housing.

We need to spend more money on social housing but we cannot because we agreed to the fiscal compact, which limits the amount of money we have to spend. However, if one takes €4 billion per year out of the tax net it is further reduced. What is the level of economic risk analysis with regard to this policy proposal in the programme for Government?

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