Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We do have wealth taxes, which the Government is increasing from 30% to 33% this year. There is also a capital acquisitions threshold reduction of ¤130 million. That is in conjunction with the property tax, which will bring in over ¤600 million. That is a lot of money coming in.

With regard to pension funds, there are a small number of very wealthy people who will not have the opportunity to put money away. I am talking about putting ¤1,200 per week towards a fund of ¤60,000 fund per annum. While the measure will be difficult for some, it will be a lot more difficult for others.

I have a concern about the PRSI increase, which will bring in around ¤300 million to the Exchequer, as this will have an impact on people's take-home pay. I have always said there is a real difficulty when people in receipt of social welfare get as much as people who are working, particularly the lower paid. I shall outline an example given by the Department of Social Welfare - it is not mine - of two people who are not working and have two children. The net total they will receive in jobseeker's allowance is ¤23,304. I will compare those figures with the budget 2012 analysis by the Department of Finance. Those people would have to pay 17% in tax and earn ¤27,500 before they would receive the same amount of money as somebody in receipt of social welfare payments - just to get the same amount. We know that the average industrial wage here is ¤32,000. This is a real problem which has been exacerbated somewhat by the increase in PRSI. The matter must be examined and something needs to be done. There is not a wide enough gap in earnings between people who work and those who do not.

An increase in alcohol excise will raise ¤180 million, but there has not been much reference to below-cost selling by supermarkets and I want something done about it. The increases in motor tax and VRT have been well flagged.

We were told that social welfare was going to be hammered. A figure of ¤500 million was quoted prior the budget and if one factored it backwards one would calculate that this equates to a 2.5% reduction. That is not being hammered. A reduction of 10% or 20% would be a hammering. Not only did the 2.5% reduction not happen, but there was an increase of ¤150 million, which I support. Nobody wants to see people poor but we must strike a balance.

As I said earlier, a balance must involve people being rewarded. I am keen to see an increase in what is perhaps the most beneficial social welfare payment we have - that is, the family income supplement. It is a superb payment and it works well.

In his final comments, the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, remarked that the budgets for 2014 and 2015 will each include tax increases of ¤500 million per annum. This will represent a ¤1 billion increase between now and budget 2016, which I welcome. We now have certainly about it. No one wishes to see tax increases but this is the reality of where we are. We are not in charge of our own financial destiny; others dictate the running here. The people who dictate it are from New York and Frankfurt, not from Dublin.