Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I second the amendments to the Order of Business moved by Senators Jim Walsh and Mark Daly and move my own amendment, namely, that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, postpone until 1 January 2013 the provision in Financial Resolution No. 4 to increase value added tax from 21% to 23% on 1 January 2012 to allow consumers to respond to the pending change. The timeframe for introducing the proposed change is too short. A large number of purchases will be made. Cars will have been booked, sold and bought for 2012. The Government's proposal is a panic reaction. The Fianna Fáil Party in government reduced capital gains tax, for better or worse, from 40% to 20%, a measure which excited considerable activity.