NUMEROUS TAX dodges and shelters remain embedded in the financial system and the Minister for Finance has “barely scratched the surface so far”, the Labour conference has been told.
Finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said she was “convinced that the wealthiest sector in Ireland who own a wholly disproportionate share of our nation’s wealth can readily stump up a sizeable share to meet the same obligations that the rest of us have to face”. She was speaking during a debate on bringing stability to the public finances at which delegates voted in favour of a reversal of the public service pay cuts.
Pat Cody of the John O’Leary Enniscorthy branch, proposing the motion, said they had a set of proposals “for an agreement to bring us to 2014. But that is all they are.”
Ms Burton spoke of the “convoluted measures used by businesses and wealthy individuals to reduce their taxes. To get a sense of how persistent the problem is, just check out the long list of tax dodges and shelters that remain embedded in the system.”
Health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan reiterated Labour policy that it will bring in a one-tier universal health service that is “unified, fair, delivers primary care free to all and prioritises hospital treatment on the basis of medical need, not the money in your pocket”.
- Deaglán de Bréadún adds: Labour delegates voted last night that motions calling for reform, rather than abolition, of Seanad Éireann should be referred back for further consideration, following a proposal to this effect from the party’s justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte TD.
Mr Rabbitte said Brendan Howlin, who drafted a document on political and institutional reform, had been delayed abroad and the document had begun to be discussed by the parliamentary party. The motions should be referred back to Mr Howlin, he said.