Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I have no problem doing that. First, the Minister got a bounce of an extra €2 billion in corporate tax receipts last year. We are €700 million ahead of target on tax revenue at the moment, much of it coming from the corporate sector because we on this side of the House began to demand action on the "double Irish" tax scam that has started to force these corporations to pay a bit more tax. The Minister should use some of that money. He should bring in a financial transaction tax and tax people earning in excess of €100,000 more, instead of maintaining absolutely draconian cuts in the pay and conditions of public sector workers and an Act which has extraordinarily draconian provisions and which can be described as nothing other than bullying. Most of the people who signed up to the agreement only signed up because the Government put a gun to their heads called FEMPI and told them to sign up to this, which was unacceptable, or they would be punished by not getting their increments or allowances and not allowing for promotions. How can the Minister justify that extraordinarily draconian behaviour?

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