Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note that yesterday in response to the article I mentioned in the Irish Examiner about austerity not working that Senator John Gilroy cast aspersions on the article and said I should not believe everying I read in the newspapers, that it probably was not true and that I had not read the report. I have read the report, which contains 266 pages, and direct him to page 41 which has a special three-page report which was covered in the Irish Examiner and in Financial Times yesterday. The article states that the IMF got its figures wrong and that austerity is not working. Perhaps Senator Gilroy is very busy, spending so much time publicising himself as a single parent that he has not had the time to read the entire report. He should focus on what is happening as he is obviously out of touch in respect of austerity and what is working and not working.

I note also that the Leader had a go at me yesterday - I do not have a problem with that - in regard to the Sinn Féin figures on a wealth tax. That is fair enough. I draw to his attention some of the figures prepared by the Government and some of the savings that were supposed to be made. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, planned to save ¤75 million expenditure on allowances and has come back with a measly saving of ¤3.5 million. We were told there would be a microfinance fund facility to avail of funding from the European Investment Fund but we have not seen much progress on that issue. The Department produced a medium-term fiscal statement in December in which it predicted a year on year growth of 1.6% for 2012. However, growth in the second quarter is at 0% and year on year the growth figures for the quarter are down by 1.1%. We were promised 100,000 extra jobs. We have not seen those but in the past 12 months 33,400 jobs have been lost to the economy. The unemployment rate is at 440,000, almost 15%. It is a bit rich of the Leader to cast aspersions on our figures when the Government gets its forecast totally wrong.

I call for a debate on a wealth tax because Sinn Féin has done much homework on such a tax. Based on the information made available to us, we estimate that up to ¤800 million could be made available from a wealth tax but the Department of Finance will not cost it and will not give us the figures. I challenge the Leader to invite in the Minister for Finance and put a costing on what the wealth tax proposed by Sinn Féin would bring in. If it is ¤400 million, ¤500 million, ¤800 million, let us see it. At least it would be more than is coming in at present and the right people would be taxed as opposed to those who cannot afford to pay. Instead of brushing me off as if I am a crank and that we are the party with the voodoo economics, the Government should look at its policies and economics and let us have a proper debate.