Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The points raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett are entirely right. It is a con job to state this is the fiscal space and we have €500 million for next year. The eyes are diverted over to this and it is designed in order that people will not see on the other side of the room the potential €13 billion to €19 billion from Apple and other sources of wealth the Deputy has identified. The failure to tax wealth in this country means that next year, according to this statement, Ireland will have the lowest public spend as a percentage of GDP in all the European Union. We have a total of 26% for this State, with an EU average of 44%. If it was 44% in this State, on the basis of taxing wealth, there would be an extra €53 billion. This is the gap between Ireland and the European average as a result of the policies pursued by the Government.

There is another con trick in the Minister's speech. He spoke about long-term capital investment. How many times is it mentioned? What about capital investment for next year? If we take gross fixed capital formation, the extra capital spend next year will be €190 million. Does the Minister know what he can get for €190 million? He can get 1,000 houses. I listened to the Taoiseach in his acceptance speech in the Dáil three weeks ago speak about taking an initiative to build more local authority houses. The Government is setting aside enough for 1,000 houses even if it spends on nothing else. If he contrasts this with the report we had from NUI Maynooth during the week, which predicted the housing crisis has not even peaked in this country, the Minister will see how inadequate and pathetic these proposals are.

I will make two specific points on the questions of privatisation and water charge refunds. On the question of privatisation, these policies are a recipe for privatisation on a big scale. At the weekend, the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Jim Daly, told The Sunday Business Postthat people should pay for home help if they can afford it. He said many people would be quite happy to make a contribution to the scheme. Of course, the Minister of State ignored that people already make a contribution to the scheme. It is called the taxes they paid during the course of their working lives. Everyone knows if a threshold is set and people above that are asked to pay for home help services, that threshold can and will be lowered over time, and more people will come into the net. Private home help companies have a strong foothold in the State, not just under Fine Gael-led Governments but also under Fianna Fáil-led Governments. They are in it for the money and the maximum profit. If the Government starts charging for home help services, it will be a gateway to upping the ante in a serious way for the privatisation of home help services in this country. There is €375 million a year invested in it and 4,000 on the waiting lists. The way to clear the waiting lists is to increase the public spend. It is a medium to long-term saving and far cheaper than having people in nursing homes.

On the question of water charges and refunds, where is the water services Bill? We were promised the water services Bill before the summer. The Bill was meant to abolish water charges and it was meant to go through the House by the summer period, but it has been kicked back to the autumn. Why is this? Is it because of the spat between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the appointment of the judge several weeks ago, and they do not want any more spats trying to put the thing to bed? Where is the refund for the people who paid, in many cases under duress? Where is the refund for them in the budget this year? It is an interesting point that the people who led the campaign of mass non-payment, and who have secured a de facto amnesty for those who did not pay, are the people in the House now pushing the hardest for those who paid under duress to get their refunds.

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