Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct when she says that we have been in office for more than seven years. However, she did not mention that we spent the first five of those years putting this country back on track. Perhaps she would like people to forget, or not to know, that we spent five years getting the public finances back in order, reversing some of the awful cuts that were made in previous years to welfare and to people's pay and salaries and dealing with enormous levels of unemployment.

A set of figures came out today which shows that the rate of unemployment in Ireland is now at 5.3%, the lowest in ten years. It is an achievement and those of us on this side of the House are very proud that we have got to the point where the rate of unemployment is at a ten-year low. We spent the first five years really putting the country back together, getting the economy working again, getting people back to work, restoring their incomes and giving them hope again. We have spent the past two years or perhaps a little more dealing with many of the legacy issues caused by the crisis. It was a seven-year period during which the construction sector was dysfunctional and did not build any home and the banks were unable to lend either to builders or people who were seeking mortgages.

On the question of rent tax relief, it is not a proposal we are supporting. We have an alternative proposal in the Finance Bill. Rather than just having income tax cuts for people who are renting, we are making them for all workers because others struggle with other bills, not only those who are renting. There are also people who are struggling to pay their mortgage, save for a deposit or with childcare costs, for example. Rather than giving tax relief to one group which is the Sinn Féin proposal, we will give it to over 1 million people, which is nearly everyone who is working. I am disappointed that Sinn Féin is going to vote against it.

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