Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. In the context of reducing fiscal space, Brexit and the unknown quantity of a President Trump, the Minister chose in the budget to cut €22 million of tax through CAT. In 2014, this would have benefitted 2,128 people in terms of the group A changes. We have, as we have discussed, a dwelling house exemption which I agree with and a tax-free threshold of €280,000 on acquisitions from parents to children. A report on the first quarter prices from daft.ieshows that in every one of the 26 counties except Dublin, that threshold is above the average asking price for a house. It is twice the asking price of an average home in Donegal.

Prices are increasing and I accept that until there is a supply they will continue to do so. Even in Dublin, the average price only exceeds the threshold on the southside, in south County Dublin and in the northside of the city. I understand the emotional argument for the inheritance of the family home to be something the State does not get involved in, but that adds to inequality. The capital acquisitions tax is about more than houses. What we have here is the Minister increasing the threshold at which a very wealthy person can inherit a valuable asset at a lower level of tax. It should not be a priority of a Government and a Minister who is blaming the fiscal rules for not being allowed to spend on capital or services. This cuts to the heart of the matter. Only this morning, a colleague questioned the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, on why there are not 96 beds in University Hospital Limerick, yet instead of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, in unison, prioritising what we really need in terms of decent public services, we have tax cuts for the wealthy. What is involved here is a suite of tax cuts for the wealthy in the context of capital acquisitions tax, inheritance tax and the universal social charge, USC. The Minister cannot have it both ways. Either he believes in decent public services in which we invest or he opts for the neo-liberal model of tax cuts, which leads to people waiting on trolleys and dying in our hospitals. That is the political difference between us. I make no apology for saying that we do not believe there should be tax cuts in this budget. We believe public services should be prioritised. We will challenge the Minister to explain to people, especially those in the area I come from in Limerick, the reason why we cannot get the 96 beds the management at University Hospital Limerick want at a time when he believes we can afford tax cuts for the wealthy.