Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. As stated by him in the final sentence of his contribution, the task of restoring the public finances is not an easy one. I would like to make some points in response to the speeches of the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. We have not yet received the full details on the ten point tax reform plan for enterprise. As such it might be better to leave that issue to next week. As stated by the Minister of State in his speech the banks got us into this trouble. I am concerned about the reference by the Minister for Finance to relief of capital gains on disposal of farm land for three years. We do not want relief of capital gains on disposal of farm land, we want output. I opposed the film industry relief last year. The Minister said in his speech that it was abused yet he has extended it. When I tried to have it voted down I was told that the anomaly by which investors received a disproportion amount of tax relief as opposed to the funds going into production was removed. We tried to save the Government money last year by seeking to have that relief removed. The study was published today but we have not yet had sight of it. Is this the fruits of lobbying, which got us into this mess, or will sound economic benefits ensue from it?

There is also a skirting around with the property sector again. Any commercial property bought between now and end 2013 will be exempt from capital gains tax for at least seven years. The Government should not go there. It is what got us into trouble before. Mention was also made of real estate investment trusts to promote investment in real estate. We need to bring all of these costs down so that, as stated by the Minister of State, the development sector of the Irish economy and exports will gain. I am concerned about the property tax because I do not believe the property market has recovered. NAMA is holding up prices, as is forbearance by the banks and there are houses in ghost estates that have not been sold. What are the real property prices at which people will be paying this tax?

On the expenditure side, I note that the pay bill for 21 of the 40 Departments has increased. Where is the Croke Park Agreement delivering? The budget for the Attorney General's office also increases to 11.6% and the increase in respect of the Office of the Minister for Finance is 16.5%. There is not much austerity in those areas.