Sir, - Recent report in The Irish Times and elsewhere indicate that the Government expects tax receipts for 1998 to be over £500 million ahead of schedule. This is indeed welcome news. What is less welcome, however, is the assumption by some commentators that this money can be used to finance further tax cuts.
I am concerned that, as a society, we debate the type of Ireland we want for ourselves and our children. In my work I am regularly brought face to face with significant areas of unmet need of among people with disabilities and their families. In my private capacity I observe growing hospital waiting lists, increased child poverty and a growing rate of homelessness in our capital city. Is this what we, as a society want? I think not.
The Irish people, unlike previous generations, are in the enviable position of having some degree of choice. We can put structures in place to ensure that all of our citizens benefit to some degree in our economic good fortune. Alternatively we can continue to reduce taxes to the levels pertaining in the UK or US. What we cannot expect is that we should have Scandinavian-type social services with UK-type tax rates. A choice has to be made.
The Government could, and in my view should, acknowledge the level of need that still exists in this State by investing its windfall in services for people with disabilities and other groups who are still at the margins of society. Such a gesture would surely signal the direction we should follow. - Yours, etc.,
Roger Acton
Chief Executive, Disability Federation of Ireland, Sandyford Office Park, Dublin 18.