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

While the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council is saying to us that we are increasing spending too rapidly and are overreliant on corporation profit tax receipts, others are saying to us that there are enormous demands for additional spending and we need to invest in our public services and infrastructure. Other people are saying to me that they want to be able to keep more of their hard-earned money. We cannot just follow the advice of any one advisory body. We have to take into account advice from many different sectors, particularly those charged with providing it, including, for example, the European Commission and the ESRI.

There are many reasons to believe the economy and public finances are being managed well. If we consider employment levels, more people are at work than ever before and unemployment is at its lowest level in 14 years. That is a major achievement which is very much down to the hard work of the Irish people and also the right policies being pursued by the Government.

We have a budget surplus. We had one last year and we will have another this year. It is a long time - more than ten years - since we had a budget surplus for two years in a row. Debt as a proportion of GDP is being reduced. Debt quadrupled under the last Fianna Fáil-led Government as opposed to the most recent Fine Gael-Labour Party Government. It is being reduced significantly as a percentage of GDP and probably in cash terms this year also but that is to be confirmed. We have also set up a rainy day fund which now stands at €1.5 billion. The European Commission, the guardian of the fiscal rules, has said this year's budget was within the parameters of the fiscal rules. The rating agencies are restoring our triple A ratings and the Central Statistics Office has indicated that incomes will rise by between 3% and 3.5 % this year, which is significant. It has also stated that deprivation and poverty rates are falling and that child poverty is fallen by 30% in the past three or four years. These are significant developments, which should be given as much of an airing as the report of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council receives, or at least some airing.

In terms of income tax policy, I was asked about my ambition for the next five years. My party's policy as opposed to Government policy is to have a five-year programme to reduce income tax.

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