Michael McCarthy (Labour)

Let us refer to the income levy in terms of what it is, an increase in general taxation. It has been perpetrated on those who earn the lowest wage in our economy. It is an attack on the vulnerable and the lower paid and is a symptom, as Senator Buttimer said, of 11 years of greed.

Now that the Government has increased taxation by 1% will the Leader prevail upon the Minister for Finance to be honest in how he approaches that? He must stop calling it an income levy and call it an increase in income tax. Does the Leader agree with the prevailing view on the removal of medical cards from those over 70 years of age? This is another attack on the most vulnerable. It was an initiative introduced——