Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator made very valid points about how the budget should be framed. It is critical for workers who are doing additional hours or overtime that they do not lose money in their net pay because of increasing taxation rates and going into a different bracket in terms of the standard rate cut-off points. The Government has to, and will, prioritise in budget 2024 people who are working and middle-income earners to ensure they are getting tax back and are protected from that bracket creep through the increase in inflation. That is very important because they are the engine room of the economy. We are all very aware in these Houses that we need a strong economy and we need workers in that engine room to run our public services, protect the most vulnerable and provide for all of those key mechanisms in society. The economy is central to doing that. The Government has been very strong on that. As the Senator quite rightly pointed out regarding the corporation tax surplus, it is not about being risky. We are protecting it for future generations so we can deploy it in a countercyclical manner to ensure that at times when public investment is weak and private investment is under pressure, we have that money to put into future generations.