Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas do gach duine a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo, go háirithe an Teachta Pringle a chur an reachtaíocht seo os ár gcomhair inniu. This is a really important issue. I do not disagree with Deputy Pringle on its importance. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, has set out the ways that we can monitor Ireland's implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as detailing some of the programme for Government commitments that marry with the objectives of Deputy Pringle, the Independent Group and other Members who support this Bill, and for which the Government has to be held to account to ensure we deliver on them. We are determined to deliver on those objectives.

I have looked at the Bill we are discussing today from the point of view of someone who is a solicitor, a parliamentarian, a Member of the Dáil and a Minister of State. Article 45 was very carefully constructed by the former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, and the drafters of the Constitution and, indeed, it was carefully considered by the Irish people who ratified the Constitution in a referendum. It was carefully constructed in the context of the separation of powers that underpins the Constitution. We have three branches of government and the Judiciary is separate entirely from the Parliament and the Executive. The latter two are of course separate but they are not as separated as the Judiciary is from the rest of us. Article 45's objectives - I will not say prescriptions because that is not what they are - could be called the directive principles of social policy to which we can all subscribe. They are expressly defined in the Constitution as a guide to us in Dáil Éireann and as not cognisable by the courts. There is a good reason for that. What was intended by the framers of the Constitution reflects a belief that decisions on the allocation of finite resources are a matter for this House, comprising the representatives of the people, rather than the courts, because we are answerable to the people for the decisions we make. We are accountable on a regular basis in the Dáil for decisions we made on the spending of people's money.

It is appropriate at this time, in the context of this debate, to reflect on the Government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is worth noting that this response, not just in Ireland but across the western world, has been markedly and welcomely different from the response to the banking crisis ten years ago. The Department of Finance has advised that the total fiscal support provided to date amounts to nearly €38 billion or almost 20% of national income. Ten years ago, the argument was that the support should be given to the banks. There were arguments made that it was necessary to do so. None of us wanted to do it, that is for sure. It is fair to say that the focus now is certainly on the people who have been affected by the pandemic. As a result of this extraordinary level of governmental intervention and stimulus, the end-year Exchequer returns show a deficit of €12.3 billion in 2020. This represents a €13 billion deterioration on the surplus for the previous year. We have a general government deficit of 5.5% of GDP, which is a €21 billion swing from where we were in 2019. A lot of money has been borrowed to keep the show on the road for families and small businesses, in particular, throughout the countries. The situation is difficult and the money provided will never be enough, but the intervention is unprecedented.

As part of budget 2021, the distributional impact of the main tax and welfare measures were estimated and published on budget day, demonstrating that the budget package was broadly progressive. This was a key aim of the Government and certainly a key aim of the Fianna Fáil Party. People in the lowest four income deciles benefited the most as a proportion of disposable income. That is what we wanted. It should be noted that work on equality has been ongoing with the help of the OECD since 2018. It is great that this is firmly on the national and international agenda. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has shown that Ireland's tax system has done more than any other country in the EU to reduce inequality. That is a fact. People can dispute it if they want but the facts are that we have done more in our tax system to reduce inequality than any other member state.

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