Mattie McGrath Demands Abolition of USC, Calls Out Broken Promises

I want to, on behalf of the rural independence of myself, wish to speak to recovery to talk to Mary Lee Macdonald. Teashock, I want to challenge you about abolishing the U.S.C. It is worth remembering, Teashock, that at the height of the Celtic Tiger year in 2006, its cheque was washed with property-based tax receipts, and then when the government reported a budget surplus of £5.1 billion. We have stories today of figures that might reach £22.5 billion by 2024 and 2025. Sadly, there is little trust in your government's ability to make wise decisions regarding the substantial funds. It is highly likely that these record tax receipts would be squandered. Therefore, it is time that individuals have made such efforts in this country, individuals up and down the country, that we consider abolishing the U.S.C. I can remind you of a time when you, at the Fine Gael Manifesto, boldly said, we are going to abolish the U.S.C.E. That is not today, not yesterday. You have reneged on that promise totally. So, Teashock, it is time that, as I said, that was prior to the 2016 general election, it is time for you to abolish this inherently unfair, as it is imposed on a person's total income, without many of the exemptions that are available to income tax. It is a healthy and unfair tax. Everybody knows that. The rates range from less than 2% for income up to £23,000, to 4.5% for income up to between £23,000 and £70,000, and 8% for income above £70,000. For instance, constituents in temporary earning £50,000 a year will pay £1,497,000 in 2023. A self-implied constituent, again, an income of £100,000, will pay £4,795,000 in 2023. Today, I am calling on you, Teashock, to honour your previous commitments and promises and utilise the record exchequer tax revenues to provide ordinary workers with the relief by abolishing this U.S.C.E. They deserve this. They have put their shoulder to the wheel. We see them today outside daily childcare workers. We see them last year from nursing homes. Across the whole society, people are struggling. We saw the government introduce little incentives to help them with their costs of energy. They really need a break for this punitive tax that was meant to be a temporary measure, and that it was promised by you in the blaze of glory to be abolished before your 2016 election. It is time to honour your promises. Do election promises mean anything? I think the public are well aware of this now, and they see. I am challenging you, Teashock, and your Minister for Public expenditure, and indeed the Finance Minister and your coalition partners, to get rid of this punitive tax. People are dizzy if you listen to all the figures of windfall attacks from corporations, etc. So now, look after Nadine Nibioga. Look after the ordinary people in this country who carry the can and are sick and tired of scandals such as the one that's hurricane brought across our public service today. Many, many good people working on RT and across the public service and all walks of life. And they are tired of your promises. They are tired of your empty rhetoric. They are tired of listening to all these massive windfalls, and they still struggle. Thank you. Thanks, Deputy. I appreciate the fact that people in Ireland pay a lot of tax, whether it's income tax, whether it's USC, whether it's PRSI. And we have, in the last number of budgets, over the last number of years, reduced the burden of taxation on people. In some budgets, we reduced the USC. In other budgets, we have reduced income tax. And we intend to do that in the forthcoming budget in October. There will be a package, and the exact composition of that package has yet to be determined. But it will mean reductions in the amount of tax that people have to pay. And that's an important commitment that this Government made that we will honour, specifically in the Programme for Government, saying that we will index tax credits and tax bands, so that when people get a pay rise, they don't see half of that lost in income tax, USC and PRSI. And that's the commitment we've made in the Programme for Government, and one that we will honour in the forthcoming budget. But, Deputy, it's not the intention of the Government to abolish the USC. The USC brings in 5.3 billion euros a year, and notwithstanding the surplus that we have, a tax package of that size and that nature wouldn't be appropriate, would fuel inflation, and would endanger the public finances into the future. It is important to point out that when the USC was introduced by Brian Lennon a long time ago, it did replace two existing income levies. You'll recall the health levy, which had been around for about 20 years, and the income levy, which had been around for some time. So people often take the view that it was a new tax. It was actually the health levy, the income levy, which had been around for a long time combined, and then it was increased, and we have reduced it somewhat since then. It is a progressive tax, in that those who earn the most pay the most. Those on the lowest incomes are actually exempt, those on very low incomes. And also, unlike income tax, there are very few ways to avoid it. The various reliefs and tax breaks that apply do not apply to the income tax, applied to USC. In terms of the commitments that my party made, that was in 2016, Deputy. That was quite some time ago. We didn't win that election. There has been another election since then. And in the 2020 election, we committed to getting to the point where people didn't have to pay the highest rate of income tax until they earned €50,000, and would only pay the highest rate of income tax on income above €50,000. And we have made a huge amount of progress getting to that point, up to €40,000 now. And we hope to make further progress and further budgets. We are probably very lethargic and squeamish. You have several budgets since. You were well in government after the 2016 election. And it is shocking that the disregard you have for ordinary people. But people can see, anybody looking in, can see that you are not interested in ordinary people, and ordinary small, ordinary walking people. You have no time for them. You have the landed gentry party, big business here now, in a whirlwind, talking about all your taxes. Teacher, I think it is pathetic. You have had several budgets since 2016, and made no effort to reduce this punitive tax and to get rid of it. It was a temporary measure. I am old enough to remember the PMPA scandal, and the temporary measure did not come in. The people outside are copping on to you, and have copped on to you, and they do not need RTE to tell them. They can see themselves in other mediums, the truth of what is going on, that you want to literally screw the ordinary people and get into bed with the big shots and big business. The ordinary people make up the vast majority of noble families in this country, who want to put the work in, put their shoulders to the wheel, educate themselves and house themselves. But you want to punish them and keep them down. You have numerous budgets. You and Fianna Fáil were supporting your confidence and supply since 2016. You have this election programme for government with the Greens and Fianna Fáil. And you have made no effort to honour your election promise, blatant promises. But people see them by what they are, blatant, naked promises to the people that win votes. I think you are out of luck this time. The people have copped on, and they will let you know what they think. That is an interesting speech, but it is a load of rubbish, quite frankly. Let me tell you what we have done for all people, ordinary and extraordinary, over the past three years. We have led Ireland through the pandemic, saving thousands of lives and hundreds of thousands of jobs at all levels. We have helped families and businesses with the cost of living, giving them unprecedented financial support, particularly small businesses, particularly families who need it most. We have reduced the cost of childcare. We have reduced the cost of healthcare. We have reduced the cost of going to school for everyone, free school books in September. We have reduced the cost of childcare for everyone. We have improved patient outcomes. We have now one of the longest life expectancies in the European Union. We have full employment for only the second time in our history. We have strengthened workers' rights. We are building more social housing than any year since the 1970s. We now have 700 first-time buyers drawing down their mortgage every week. And we have secured an agreement with the British Government in relation to Northern Ireland. What on earth have you done in your political career to help anyone? What one is struggling? One members of Greater Jurnard &