John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House. I welcome the Minister's comments on the Bill which contained some information of which I was not aware. I did not realise that it was not an offence to impersonate a Revenue officer; many people may regard it as an offence to be a Revenue officer. Nor did I realise that there would be floodlit racing by the end of the year, as the Minister mentioned, and many people will welcome this provision.

I agree with much of what the Minister has said and as contained in the budget, particularly regarding the measures in the area of preliminary taxation on small businesses, the seed capital scheme and the business expansion scheme. He has made many announcements that should be welcomed including the new tourism scheme for the midlands. It is important that when new schemes are announced and existing schemes extended we be presented with an analysis of the costs involved and the benefit that will accrue to the taxpayer and the nation. My colleague in the other House, Deputy Bruton, also emphasised this. Unfortunately, the Minister did not take the opportunity to do this but he may in his closing remarks.

I welcome many aspects of this Finance Bill but, as with recent Finance Bills, I feel that, overall, it is a disappointing legislation and represents a missed opportunity. I do not detect from the Bill, the Minister's comments or the Government in general enough reforming zeal in terms of restructuring the tax system and how taxpayers' money is spent. If we do not do this now in a time of plenty, if the Minister does not do this in a Finance Bill such as this, it will be far more difficult when the economy is not as strong as it is now. A number of economic indicators suggest there is reason for concern about the future.

The International Monetary Fund pointed out last year that there is an over reliance in the economy on the construction sector, though we did not need the IMF to tell us this. Many people would argue, with some merit, that much of our economic growth, particularly in the past four or five years, is based on the construction industry and private debt, which has grown hugely in recent years. These foundations are not strong for the ongoing prosperity of our country and economy. The failure of the Minister and Government to vigorously reform the way we spend our money and use this opportunity and time of plenty to create reforms is disappointing to say the least. The Minister referred to some of the areas that concern me in his comments and did not refer to others.

I have said before that I believe the major legacy of the past ten years of this Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats Government is the disaster that is our housing sector. Many young people are struggling to get mortgages and keep a roof over their heads. Houses have gone from affordable ten years ago to unaffordable today, even to people with very good jobs. I am disappointed by the Minister's refusal to accept the point made from within the Government and the Opposition that reform of stamp duty is essential. The stamp duty system is one of the more complex elements of the taxation system. In fairness to the Minister he has undertaken efforts to simplify the taxation system. There is ample scope for reforming stamp duty on residential property, with its many rates and thresholds.

I do not accept the Minister's argument that exempting first-time buyers from paying stamp duty on house purchases would distort the property market. First-time buyers make up a small proportion of house purchasers.