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

We have had this debate often and we will have it again. A survey was carried out recently that showed that eight people out of ten in the country want to see a wealth tax. Therefore, the Minister might consider it, even in the interest of what the majority of people want. The people want it particularly because the level of household wealth has grown by 51% since the trough in 2013. The top 10% own 53% of it. The number of millionaires has increased exponentially and it would be entirely justified to tax them.

Even setting aside our differences on that, does the Minister not believe we should have a database on wealth distribution? In this sort of debate, we often end up saying a tax would not raise that much and that it is all pie in the sky. We should have a proper database on the distribution of wealth rather than just the aggregate figures that are available through the Central Bank or CSO. Would that not be a way to assess whether the proposed tax would be useful? We are convinced it would be. The tax would be a fair one the objective of which would be to share the wealth in Irish society. A database would help to provide evidence on which to base a serious discussion given that many people believe the proposed tax should be considered.

Will the Minister at least consider that we should have a database on the distribution of wealth?

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