Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. Many people, including the types of workers referred to by Deputy Mattie McGrath, who are in good jobs in high-tech businesses, pay a lot of tax and sometimes feel aggrieved that they can hardly afford their rent or mortgage. They perceive themselves as being in the squeezed middle while large corporations pay very little tax. Moreover, it seems that the larger the company, the lower the rate of tax it pays. That has an impact on our hospitals, schools, roads and, indeed, on every part of our society. It means that more and more ordinary working people, who go out and do their best every day, are finding they cannot afford to live, get a mortgage and provide for their families.

We see the evidence of this clearly in the north west. The Sunday Business Postmagazine last Sunday included a list of how much Enterprise Ireland has spent in every county. Nearly two thirds of the moneys were accounted for by Dublin and the counties in the Dublin circle, namely, Kildare, Wicklow, Louth and Meath. County Leitrim, on the other hand, received only some €350,000, and Sligo less than €700,000. I am not saying that this is the fault of the Government. The problem is that there are not enough businesses investing in those areas, and that is because the emphasis is not being placed on ensuring that the places which have the most potential are given the most help. All the money is flowing into the region where there is the most pressure, the highest rents and where people cannot afford to live. I am all too aware of this as the parent of college-going children. County Leitrim has the highest number of graduates per head of population but there are no jobs for graduates in my area. That is a scandal in a context where we have a 12.5% tax rate for corporations. Those companies absolutely should be paying that rate in full. There is an additional problem in that we currently have no ability to direct where that work should be going and where people should be getting a chance. I want to see my children do better than I have done, as do most people. However, people living in Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal see them doing better somewhere else, not at home. That is something the Government must address.

If we are going to make the changes that are needed, the emphasis on what the Government invests in must change. There used to be a saying in rural Ireland about rubbing more butter on the fat sow's back, which is applicable to the current situation. Everything is happening in the greater Dublin region and the pressure there is huge. Rents are through the roof for people looking for a home and students seeking accommodation. Meanwhile, the west and other areas are continually left behind, the most recent evidence for which was The Sunday Business Postreport to which I referred. These issues have an impact on people throughout the country. If this Government is about fair play, then it must ensure that corporations play fair. The types of breaks they currently receive should not be given. Deputy Burton referred to the banks, which are a typical example. Banks in this country that are owned or partly owned by the State are getting away with paying no tax and making billions in profits. By contrast, if a rural publican is a month late submitting his VAT return, Revenue will come down on him like a tonne of bricks.

I am not here to beat up on the Government. We all have a responsibility to address these issues, and Government has a particular responsibility to deliver for everyone. The problem we see - it is an acute problem for people in the north west, in particular - is that too many people feel they are not getting fair play, and there is anger and resentment because of that. This how the politics of fear evolves. People feel the Government has let them down and not delivered for them. Its promises are no longer believed, as we have seen in respect of the national broadband programme. The Minister has a huge job of work to do to change that. Problems we are seeing, such as those concerning direction provision facilities, are all part of this same problem that so many people in rural areas feel neglected and left behind and that Government is not in tune with their lives. If the Minister and his colleagues do not change that, there will be fertile ground for the far right to move in and instil a politics of fear. As we go into the next decade, we should be seeking to move past the politics of fear and towards a politics of hope and reform. The reform we need is to invest in the regions where there is most potential and where we can deliver for more people. That is the future we can have but it requires the Government to stand up and not just talk about taking action but actually deliver it.

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