The Progressive Democrats reject attempts by the left to claim exclusive rights to social justice, according to party leader and Tanaiste Ms Harney.
Tonight Ms Harney is due to give a speech on where her party stands in relation to social policy in what is being perceived as the PDs entering general election mode.
Achieving a just society is about much more than making the well-off pay a lot of tax, or one particular pattern of income distribution, said the Tanaiste. "It easy to see that left wing parties and commentators concentrate far too much on redistribution of income as the measure of justice in our society."
Our income tax system already asks the better off to pay more tax. A single person earning £10,000 pays an average tax rate of 5 per cent, while a person earning £40,000 pays an average tax rate of 32 per cent.
"Over half of all income tax came from the top 12 per cent of income taxpayers in 1998. That's already a lot of redistribution of income. Our policy of having 80 per cent of taxpayers pay tax at the 20 per cent rate underlines our conviction that people with ordinary incomes should not be paying a lot of tax."
For all the criticism of PD tax cuts, and the lowering of the top rate of tax, "not one of our political opponents dares to raise the top rate again", said Ms Harney, who will deliver her address at a constituency meeting in Dublin mid-west.
"None of our tax cuts has ever been reversed. If the tax cuts are so unjust, why don't our opponents promise, `We'll raise the top rate of tax'?"
Ms Harney said she found it very strange that after achieving more jobs that ever before; after helping more people that ever find their way out of poverty and dependency; after battling successfully to ensure high standards in public life, and after taking tough decisions to investigate the misdeeds of powerful cliques, people would still say "where's the social justice?".
"All those things are social justice. They are delivering a fairer and just society."
The party's policies, she said, were working for justice and part of that is creating employment. Since April 1997, 90,000 people who had no jobs are now employed. "That's more than the entire population of Limerick. Each one tells a story of justice delivered, a story of renewed dignity, freedom and fairness."
Addressing complaints about quality of life issues such as traffic congestion Ms Harney said that people should not miss the wood for the trees. Because of the economic situation people now had the choice to stay in Ireland and work and many had returned. "Each one of these thousands of Irish people returning home to work here is the story of a wrong being righted. Where they were forced to emigrate by unjust economic management, they now have choice and great freedom."
Speaking about poverty, the Tanaiste said that because of employment and the tax revenue generated by growth, we have the prospect of eliminating poverty "firmly in our sights".
The PDs, she said, believed in competition because of what it delivered for the consumer, lower prices and more services. "Consumers have little power alone against dominant business or vested interests. Our vigorous policies in favour of competition correct unfair imbalances of power."