Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

The point is the ability of the people in this country to pay. There are people who are in a position to pay a tax like this but, as we have said, we have already seen families losing children's allowance, paying extra for school buses and they will have to pay septic tank charges and so on. The Government might not have increased the standard rates of tax but it has certainly put its hands in their pockets in a lot of other ways, and it is taking left, right and centre out of those pockets. This is why we do not agree with this €100 charge and we certainly do not agree with giving the Minister blanket powers to increase it at any stage, when he wants to.