Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Any objective assessment of where Ireland is at the moment would show a country and an economy which is struggling badly and is under very severe pressures that arise due to the fact our services are so severely underfunded and our public infrastructure is so wholly inadequate. Given that situation, and we in this House are all too aware of those pressures as we are dealing with them with our constituents every day, it is very hard to see how on earth the Government could adopt the kind of fiscal stance that was outlined in yesterday's statement. It is very hard not to come to the conclusion that this stance is seriously misguided. Sometimes one has to wonder if the Minister and the Government are living on the same planet as the rest of us and the constituents we are supposed to serve.

Given the level of unmet need, one would have to ask how on earth the Minister can contemplate the idea of tax cutting. We got that clear message last year during the general election, when people were very clear they were not going to be fooled by promises of tax cuts. They did not want tax cuts. They wanted politicians to sort out the housing crisis and to deal with the dysfunctional health service and all the other unmet needs in society.

People have moved beyond the Minister's position and they do not buy the empty promises he makes.

Earlier, he stated his aim was that the fruits of economic recovery would be spread as evenly as possible. Why does the Minister not tell us what he means by this? His actions, and those of the previous Government, do not suggest he is serious about that as an objective. He has not said anything other than that phrase today or explained what he means by this. How would he give effect to that? He has not provided any figures on the level of poverty and inequality. He has not set out an anti-poverty strategy or targets to ensure that recovery is spread evenly. Is this empty rhetoric or does the Minister mean it? If he does, will he explain how he will achieve this because his actions to date do not indicate that nor does the stance he set out in yesterday's statement indicate that he is serious?

If the Minister is serious, the obvious conclusion is that whatever limited resources are available would be invested in public services because that is how one ensures that there is fairness. We need to get to a point where there is a clear social contract where the understanding is that people pay their taxes, at a fair level, and in return they get good quality public services. That is the kind of social contract that exists in most European countries, particularly in northern European countries. A cohesive society can exist where one pays one's taxes, based on ability to pay and in return, one gets good quality public services. That makes sense. The tax-cutting agenda peddled by the previous Government and continues to be peddled by the current Government is short-sighted, dishonest and inequitable. Given the very narrow fiscal space currently available, that €500 million should be invested in good public services in its entirety. There is no space for tax cutting. Because that space is so narrow and the kind of uncertainties the country faces because of Brexit, the prudent thing to do is to safeguard the current tax base and to ensure there is some stability in that for the future. Taking that kind of approach and tackling the social and economic pressures is not only fair and ensures a more cohesive society but also makes sound economic sense. Our failure to do that has resulted in huge upward pressure on wages and that is a vicious cycle. We do not tackle the underlying problems, we do not provide good quality public services, we allow the cost of living to soar and that puts pressure on wages.

We need to take a more holistic approach to this. It has to be equitable, honest and fair and what the Minister laid out in yesterday's statement will not achieve that.

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