Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste is correct that we have a very progressive taxation system and the Labour Party was instrumental in ensuring that it remained progressive in the downtime. However, the base income divide between the rich and poor is manifestly much broader in this country than it is in any of our comparator countries. It is rebalanced somewhat by social transfers through taxation and social welfare. It is shocking, however, that one quarter of workers are earning less than the acceptable living wage of €11.90 an hour. They are the people who will not benefit from any reduction in the higher rate of taxation, which the Tánaiste characterised as applying to the squeezed middle. As I spelled out in detail, that is not the case. In addition, they will not benefit from the services that could be provided if the Government invested adequately in childcare or in increasing supports for people on modest incomes. We will spell out all of that in detail this afternoon. I am not asking the Government to spend money it does not have. On the contrary, I am asking it not to repeat the mistakes of the past by shrinking the tax base. We must maintain the breadth of the tax base so we can have decent social provision in the future. If we have risks such as corporation tax, let us ensure that our tax base is broad enough to endure.

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