Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy must note the starting positions of those other countries. The starting position of Spain and the Czech Republic is a standard rate of 21%. We already apply a lower rate than 21%. Our starting position compared to that of those other countries is very different. The starting position of Spain is 21% while our starting position is 13.5%. That is the difference. They have an interest in seeking to make a change in their VAT payment because their VAT rate is so much higher than ours. Those are the figures. While the Deputy is drawing attention to two other countries, the majority of other countries are handling this very severe issue for many families in exactly the same way as we are by the changes being made in the social welfare payments, which were announced on budget day, and also by other changes we have made in taxation, which have also been implemented in the budget.

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