Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Why has this Government got so much money to spend? It is because of its tax regime. The Government loves inflation. When housing doubles in price, the Government gets the double the tax. When a house that once cost €250,000 now costs €450,000, the Government now has a tax intake of €53,524.23 in VAT if a person buys a new house. That is why the Government has the money. Schools get a small budget and have barely enough to survive. The Government will make schools very accountable and only give them a small budget, but when it comes to the Government giving out money, there is no accountability - €1.4 million for a security and €365,000 for a bike shed. There is no accountability even though the Government is taxing people out of existence. This is why the Government loves inflation. If you buy a bottle of orange today and pay €1 for it and a year later, it costs €2, you will still get the same bottle of orange but the Government will take 50% of it back in tax. That is the problem with this Government. There is no accountability and no business sense in Cabinet because none of them have ever been in business and employed people so they do not know what it is like to lose money. It is like confetti to them. They just throw it out there. A total of €9 million has been given out for phone pouches when schools are crying out for more special education teachers and more help. The Government will give it for one thing but will not give it to the people who really need help. Again, there is no accountability in Cabinet. Why? It is because they have no business sense and know nothing about it. If they were losing their own money, they would know about it.

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