Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Chair to give me a few additional minutes to speak about this important budget. Senator Colm Burke touched on where we started from in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2011, we had an income tax take of €11 billion. The projected figure for 2018 is €21.5 billion. That is where the recalculation has come from. Those who pay income tax in this State have now taken up the burden of taxation. That is where we are. I would love to be able to start from somewhere else. I would love to be able to go back to zero, but we do not get those opportunities.

I thank Fianna Fáil for participating. The easiest space to be in is that occupied by the Sinn Féin people who choose not to participate. I am not having a go; I am just pointing out the facts as I see them. In 1987, Fine Gael did what Fianna Fáil is doing now. There is no more difficult space in politics than the space occupied by those who are participating without getting the credit for it. There is some credit to go around. Fianna Fáil is putting the country first. It should not be criticised for doing that. Sinn Féin has a track record of stepping off the pitch. It has stepped off the pitch in Northern Ireland.