Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We can spend hours talking about this. USC, as I said at the outset, is a disingenuous, heinous and cruel tax that was brought in as a temporary arrangement after the crash. The coalition Government promised to abolish it. The Minister might shake his head and say that Fianna Fáil did not but they are one and the same now - totally hybrid. The Green Party members are hanging around there as well and they do not know what they are doing but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are all the one and are more and more alike. How will they be able to go out, knock on doors and ask people to vote for them, where Fianna Fáil attack Fine Gael and Fine Gael attacks Fianna Fáil? The old traditional way is imithe, gone. I know that the parties have enough spin doctors to do this for them but the real issue is this punitive charge on ordinary working people. It is punitive and regressive.

I certainly will not take any lectures from An Teachta Ó Murchú about us standing up for ordinary people. We put our names before the electorate, the Healy-Raes and myself, and it is up to the electorate to decide, as it is in the case of Deputy Murphy. I know from social media that the Deputy is pleading with people to come out and help them as he is afraid he will be swamped up or removed and I do not know what panic he is in. If he is doing his work and is looking after the people, that should not bother him.

I actually agree with Deputy Murphy 100% as regards the rich and the super rich in that they should be taxed heavily. They are entrepreneurs and provide much good work and all but this has to stop somewhere. The gravy train has to stop but the problem is that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are beholden to these people, including the beef moguls and the big business people. We have seen that time out of hand.

They are grouped in with Deputy Murphy's support as are all of the NGOs. They are now like a field of daisies, there are so many of them in the field. If they can be where the cow has done her business, there would be dozens of them. There are 36,000 non-governmental organisations costing €6 billion a year. I question the validity of tens of thousands of them. There are some very good people there and certainly necessary NGOs but this has gone beyond. They are in front of, behind, beside, before and around the Government and they are just dictating its policy. It does not matter what legislation or the amendments the Members in this House try to bring in; they are there and they have such a grip around the handlebars of power because they have been allowed to do so by weak Ministers. That is very sad.

I have no more to say on this amendment. We know that we will be putting this to a vote and we know that it will be voted down by people who are speaking here in support of it this, which is the comical part of it.

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