David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure that if I do not give an alternative before I sit down, the Government Senators will be screaming that I spent ten minutes or less critiquing the Bill and the charges without putting forward any alternative. We did put forward an alternative in our alternative budget this year. I will not go over the details of it but I am quite happy to give the Minister a copy if he has not received it. We proposed a whole range of wealth taxes and an increase in taxes on high earners. We want water to be paid for through direct taxation through the local government fund along with the continuation of full collection of the commercial water charges, which are still being paid. We are completely against regressive taxes that are not based on ability to pay. It sickens my stomach, to be quite honest, that we have so many people in this State living in poverty. I spoke at length on this issue on Second Stage. We have structural inequality and real poverty. We have people making real decisions every day about what bills to pay. We have had ESRI report after report critiquing this Government's four budgets and they have shown that the top earners have benefited the most and those at the bottom have benefited the least.