Dáil debates

Tuesday, 9 November 2021

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

Tax Code

8:10 pm

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has just confirmed correctly, although he said it has reduced slightly, that the richest 10% of our population owns more than 50% of all the wealth in a study to which he referred. People need to understand how much that is. Net household wealth, according to the Central Bank report, is €883 billion. That means the richest 10% have €440 billion in personal wealth. The Minister said that is tied up in the family home. Our wealth tax proposal explicitly excludes the family home. There are 160,000 people in that top 10%. Let us allow them €1 million each to cover the family home and that is being very generous. That would be €160 billion of the €440 billion. Why not tax the rest even by 2% in order to redistribute some of the wealth to the bottom 50% who have less than 2% of the wealth?

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