John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the call for a debate on DIRT evasion and would like to see a holistic approach taken to such a debate. I remember a time when people queued to collect their interest, as it was so significant. There are no queues today but the past is a different place. We should look at the reasons people were tempted to obtain a non-resident account. At that time, vast sums of money were leaving the country. I do not wish to excuse anybody, but was there a failure to provide an instrument whereby people could obtain tax-free or low tax interest? It should have been at a rate which did not create a temptation to go abroad. That incentive was not there. People paid tax at the top marginal rate at that time and on interest. The high interest rate they were getting was therefore of no real value to them.