Texts and Emails, Tuesday 10 Nov 2009

Topic: Should welfare recipients be targeted or should the wealthy pay to fix the financial crisis?
Panelists: Jim Power, Kathleen Lynch, Leo Varadkar, Marie-Louise O'Donnell
Over 400 texts and emails were received. Below is a selection.

why in gods name do state agencies give payments to ibec? its no wonder ibec is so eager to always go along with the government .both ibec and the social partners canvassed vigoursly for lisbon trying to convince us that all wud b well if we adopted the new treaty, i wouldn't hold my breath. they insisted that lisbon would not affect our own constution, they are now about now to change child benefit entitlement depending on parents means whereas before, under our computuion they could not do this as we were required to treat all our children equally.not so anymore. do they still insist that our old constution is still in place. margaret`

***
Whats fair and equitable about a secure,pensioned,public sector getting 26% more than insecure, poorly pensioned private sector? Benchmark them down

***
As an army N C O serving on the Curragh .. In this time of recession and near depression ..i look with amazement at the tripe and baloney presented to the public by the irish army and the government .as things obviously get worse and severe cuts are looming yet once again .. As the public are conned . There are millions being used .wasted. And whatever else within the irish army .br they pretend to be hard hit ..the ordinary soldier in general has and is being hit badly..but the budget for the big boys is massive . And rewarding to some of them in a big way .As the rest of us struggle ..joe.Curragh .

***
It is utter nonsense to say that the rich are entitled to child benefit or any social welfare when we have a deficit of €20 billion. Take it all off them. Now. Joe wexford

***
The public sector unions claim to be socialist but only for their own members. They want to maintain their amount of pie despite the pie rapidly shrinking

***
if all the td s were forced to live on a pension of 200 euro a week they would soon change there minds about cutting it chris carville

***
why not one off profit tax and rich tax

***
the 1st thing that should be cut is children's allowence for children who have never set foot in this country. 24 mill euro this year alone. Mary hannafin says they may receive it until their 18 . John the taxpayer.

***
The amount of self pity among PS workers really is amazing given they are so overpaid by any objective analysis of eurozone PS pay/pension levels. Tom

***
You clearly want to increase taxes ad infinitum. At what point do you think heavy taxpayers will throw in the towel and emigrate. Me and my family are one more increase away from packing it in. John in Dublin

***
Nobody has told me yet- How will the carbon tax effect the ordinary Joe Soap. Leixlip viewer

***
Are RTE presenters classified as public servants; RTE is a public service broadcaster, isn't it? The unknown hero on last nights Frontline, challenging Pat Kenny's salary (and others on RTE) spoke for us all. Nora, Blackrock.

***
Public sector have been hit in the last two budgets, they will be hit in the next one by a pay cut, they will be equaly caught by carbon taxes, and wil be caught for the forthcoming tax increases, no extra money wil be taken in from the private sector this year.. Is that fair??

***
How much tax are small self employed people paying, very little i believe as i know a lot of them, also what are revenue doing about this ? Monica

***
why are we sending the army over seas when it is costing us 52 million per tour

***
why can't people on the dole drive our ministers around they would be cheaper than the guards paddy mullingar

***
Hi please talk about denists payments from medical cards and prsi and fraud claims which their is loads

***
I think there should be a massive shake up at Goverment first regarding there pay Brian Cowan should'nt be allowed to make any more than €100,000 per year and the rest of goverment depending on position should be paid less than that amount also scrap all the expencies far all members of the Dail abolish the limo's and private jet and suspend the job of president for 3yrs that would save money. Paul Co Wexford.

***
You forget lower paid workers get all allowances benefits grants etc. Middle income earners get nothing and have less disposable income. Mary monaghan.

***
My local authority rent has just gone up 27%. Im on disability benefit. When benefit is drawn its spent within days back into the economy. To reduce it starves the high street etc. To cut benefits would infact be counter-productive and increase petty crime. john loughlin kilkenny

***
According to the Dept. Of finance the richest 250 people in ireland have a combined wealth of 40 billion euro. Ten percent wealth tax on that wud equal the savage budget cuts in december. Liam.

***
I'm a factory worker , my partner is a civil servant between us we earn 40 k a year ! Now she is goin to take a pay cut again , she earns just over 20 thousand gross tel me how this is fair ?

***
I dont always agree with wot u say - but - tonight I agree: leave the poor alone, the 'rich' must pay a FAIR share. Public sector already took big hit another paycut will cripple ordinary decent people

***
Tell leo that freezing increments for public servants,only affects,those who have not reached the top of their pay scale.this is unfair as affects mainly the lowly paid,who have minimum service

***
Introduce higher taxes for individuals earning over 100k and excluding bonus packages for those high earners including bank officials rather than those on social welfare or lower income earners.

***
Any couple earning a combined income of 100k are not rich by any standard. Deduct mortgage repayments and general costs to live in this country and there's nothing left. And stop comparing our tax levels to other eu countries when the cost of living is nowhere near comparable.

***
Agree with Kathleen about increasing Corp Tax Believe Joe Higgins has also advocated this Ted Cork

***
why always hit the paye worker. The soletraders who do income tax returns once a yr, dont fulfil prelim tax obligations and can manipulate accounts

***
Why not sell off surplus state owned companies such as 2fm . Why does the taxpayer in Ireland need to own a pop station. Con in Limerick

***
freeze all morgages in ireland for one year and people will start spending again big time and this will kick start the economy again. Is this not a very good idea.

***
The rich get away with paying the same indirect taxes as low income people so to even the playin field people who earn more should pay more. Pat, mayo

***
With private rent falling, local goverment rent is rising. People on social welfare just can't cope as it is even without cuts its so hard to get by. Please keep talking for the poor. thomas wexford

***
why does the government accept approximately €810 million in tax revenue go to the UK through northern ireland and imports since November last year. Alex in Laois

***
I would love to have the income of the Nurse and the Guard. My husband and I are trying to live on our OAP. Maura Walsh. LOUTH.

***
Introduce rates on second homes and hit the middle class landlords. There is a generation in this country that will never own their own home, coincidentally the same people social welfare cuts will hit. Why should the needy always pay for the greedy?

***
why has the bloodstock industry escaped tax free not one person has mentiond this rich area so far

***
More property tax and dont allow mortgage interest as a deduction in calculating taxable rental income. These people with 2/3 houses benefitted the most in the boom.

***
Jim and Leo wake up and smell the coffee! A £100k a year is not what it appears?? Okay tax the poor AGAIN and leave the disposable income from the 100k earners must remain sacrosanct. Nickolas.

***
I am public sector worker earning under €17,000, husband unemployed, two children and if what they say will happen in budget we will be hit 3 times at least, Lucy

***
It seems like the benefits of socialism are afforded to the rich and the burden of capitalism falls on the poor, evan, d.12

***
Why not hit the criminal gangs where it hurts. End prohibition on cannabis, tax and regulate it. Free up court and garda time and costs. Brian

***
Ask leo would he agree to have tds salary reduced to 50k it would really show that they were serious about the massive budget deficit after all it was politicians who got us into this very serious situation

***
can someone tell me why we give judges medical cards when they reach seventy and child allowance when they are rearing their children and yet we have child poverty at the other end of the scale and not a word about it. From maura in wexford

***
I'm a nurse + single. thought id do the right thing and i bought a house on 100% loan, im struggling at the moment dont know what i'll be like next month. i deserve my house coz i work extremely hard for it !

***
My self and my wife have a combined income of 60000 euro and have a second home which is mortgaged so a 200 euro charge is enough john

***
millions spent on d lottories each week why not have a lottery every month regulate it and use it twoards social health etc. Where is the millions of lotto money spent?

***
how about cuttng all tax breaks .`end them now.not joe soap yet again. universal health care. even usa going that route. stop the carpet baggers.

***
The concept 'rich' is childish in these debates. The average industrial wage could be used as a benchmark for designing tax bands. For example, twice this benchmark could pay twice the tax and so on... Derek in Kinsale

***
I am a public service worker earning only 26000 a year. I pay the income levy and the pension levy on top of tax prsi and health levies. My job as sna is not secure and yet i face more pay cuts in the budget. How is that fair. From listener in Waterford

***
Please ask ur panel what they'd thlnk of a register of peoples' income and tax paid for openess,fairness and transparency. Phil Smith Cork

***
i am a civil servant my husband is unemployed and we have 2 children. We have a total income pre tax of approx 40k and now we are heading 4 a cut in my wage, a cut in social welfare and possibly child benefit so we will b hit 3 times. How are we supposed 2 live on that money and the wealthy can't take a serious cut and leave the likes of us alone.

***
property tax takes no account of peoples ability to pay

***
a small number of people pay a high percent of total tax take because wealth is unevenly distributed. Imposing extra taxes on lower paid and reducing welfare would compound this inequity. Risteard.

***
. I would like 2 know what wil happen unmarried fathers that pay maintanance out of 204 euro a week. Being an unmarried father it is not going to be easy, but we must pay or end up in court and then free legal aid comes in to it. Where does it stop. James gorey co Wexford.

***
as well as paying an inflated price for our home four years ago we also said 30000€ in stamp duty . How fair is it to hit up with a property tax now? i also lost my job this year too ! Karen

***
they should reduce the number of TD's , 166 is to many for such a small country.

***
if low corporation is the only reason for foreign investment then are our peoples skills worthless?

***
does kathleen not realise most second homes are now in negative equity. Most have now serious mortgage problems on second home. Vincent clearly knows nothing about gnp and gdp.

***
what do u think of garret fitzgerald idea that everyone should pay tax. Nice coming from someone that we are supporting for the last 2o years on a unjustiable pension and state car ,some nerve

***
with in the public sector what is the purpose of the irish army and how much do they cost per year because for 25 years a small fraction of the population kept the british at bay and they didnt cost the country to much ?

***
The equestrian horse breeding industry has been tax exempt 4 far 2 long , it's time 4 them 2 start paying their dues .. I personally make less then 25k a yr , i can only dream of making 50k a yr .. Th majority of th country is struggling

***
I am self employed and have a second home. I bought it with money i paid tax on. It was part of my pension. The rest of my pension is halved. Now people want to tax money and savings that have already been taxed. I should have drank it!

***
how much of a reduction would kathleen like to see in 3rd level salaries? Daniel sullivan

***
The government has caused this problem, we the general workers are being shafted to pay the blunt of this resession, pension levy and now more deducations will cripple the normal workers earing under 5ok. People are loosing thier homes what more can we loose, life is tough this government needs to get more focused on what the people need and support us and stop sucking the life out of the irish people. Vincent your programme is excellent, thank you lorraine hoey, kinsealy.

***
it is quite obvious that we can not afford to bale out the banks. We need a new stable money and reliable citizens banks unless the E C B devalue the Euro and take over control of the toxic debts after all private bank business is their business. Joseph

***
. All this talk of property tax is rubbish. With falling rents and negative equity where are people unlucky enough 2 have second homes going to get the money to pay the tax when they are struggling to service their mortgage as it is

***
......mathamatics is not negotiable, we are borrowing more than we take in, 80% of our outgoings is on social welfare and public pay, civil servants are retiring early like rats from a sinking ship in case they lose their fat pensions and wages, when will people realise that we cannot keep going to the same well, social welfare in ireland is in the top 1% of the OECD countries, cost of living has decreased by 6% in 2009....if we dont get real we'll be bankrupt and then we're all knackered with no way back

***
Kathleen lynch is worth her weight in gold. Keep her permanently on panel. Judy, cork

***
Im over 70 all my working life paid into a pension and im payin an INCOME LEVY. define INCOME. gery

***
all those gov people who talk about cuts all earn vast sums of money they have no identity with financial struggle let it all come from the top first

***
Public sector are under worked and over paid. The cost of living has falling by 11% . Its time they stopped ringing in sick and take a pay cut .

***
everyone should pay their share of tax no matter what their income if people want a better income then get an education and dont gn round begrudging people who have worked hard for what they have gained people shouldnt b looking for everything for nothing

***
.I am a civil servant with 4 dependent young adults who r unemployed.If I am given a paycut I wud b better off drawing da dole getting all other benefits.I have served this country 4 da last 34 years don't mind paying my share but with 2 levies I have paid enuf.Get rid f Seanad members and reduce TD's.

***
what about farmers with no income driving big 4 wheel drives, big tractors, new slatted sheds, brown envelopes & free education.

***
As katheen alluded to, there has to be scope for some increase, if only perhaps a modest increase, in corporation tax. Do you or your panel know what corporation tax take is and what an increase of a percentage point or two in corporation tax will contribute. Dan Casey.

***
glad to hear Kathleen Lynch widening the debate at last regarding our low corporate tax rate. And as for the property tax even €1000 should be the minimum. And also could somebody address the issue of consultancy fees paid to the private sector by the public sector please? T. Moloney

***
noel here work in the public sector. could u tell the panel i have taking a pay cut of 7.5.per cent. i earn 42000 .i am down 99 euro a week with the levys and the pension levy plus my t.r s on my mortgage. how more pain do i have 2 take. i have a wife and 2 kids 2 look after. pay my mortgage. bills food and so on. it is a disgrace the rich getting richer the poor getting poorer.

***
no one has mentioned the profits earned by the auctioneers during the boom. Am i wrong to think that they earned these profits. Where has all of this money gone and the jobs. As soon as things started to go bad they closed and scaled down operations. Did they contribute to fuelling the property madness.

***
There is a lot of super rich in this country who could well afford 2 pay a lot more income tax than they already pay. Its a real scandal 2 penalise the average citizen ie those most vulnerable. Its a horrible country 2 live in where the most vulnerable get penalised 4 the mistakes of the rich ao powerfull,its a downright disgrace.

***
Why cant the tds take a 50 cent pay cut and why do we need 160 of them the dail is nearly always empty before they cut social welfare

***
I'm a garda wid 10years service. I take home 539euro a week. My mortage is presently 1300 euro a month. U say im rich...i dont think so. I pay 53per cent tax.

***
Is it not obvious that we dont care about ethetics, morality or the type of society we live in? The quickest and surest way to our hearts and votes is through our wallets. We'll never be scandanavia nor should we aspire to be. Cop on!

***
well done on giving voice to the view expressed by Kathleen Lynch - we have been saturated by all media forms on the views by economists in general. As a social worker for almost 30 years, perhaps my day to day experience differs significantly to those concerned more with the world inhabited by many of our economists Maggie

***
A simple way to save 100's of millions in the public service paybill is to cut out waste e.g. People on 70 or 80 thousand doing work that can be done equally as well by staff on half that salary , instead of getting rid of these lower paid staff and propagating these overpaid parasites.

***
On the cuts to social welfare to young people living at home,do the panel think its a good idea to force young people to move into rented house whitch is costing 3 times more than a single allowance .so the state is paying the morgages for the landlords,why not cut some of this money

***
the onus should be on the creation of home produced jobs. For a start its a disgrace to see so much food bn imported in2 what was always bn viewed as a country with agricultrial history. Example 190,000 tons of sugar imported followin the demise of the irish sugar industry. Peadar from carlow.

***
the goverment have done nothing to get out of the mess they caused there was nothing about the public sector during the celtic tiger as a public sector worker we are an easy target bring any one on over a .100 thousand a year in public or private bring back to a 100 thousand sack a number of t d and cut back on all the state cars and lead by example

***
Private schools get 100m of taxpayers money?According to statistics 50per cent of foreign nationals on irish welfare have not paid required prsi contributions in ireland

***
one of the reasons the country has so many problems is or capital cushion and reserves have being destroyed which damages capital formation, growth potential thus in my opinion its not a good idea to hammer ireland's injured entrepreneurial class with super taxes further leaving aside some property developer who built up no equity in their businesses who should face the consequences of their failure. So i believe our entrepreneur should be left to recover so they can recommence the process of making money from which our whole society benefits, failing which u will have the equal society you seek, ie one where everyone has an equal share of nothing like what it was like in 1980's period. Yours nigel mcgrath. Esq. Temppleudigan, co. wexford

***
I payed stamp duty twice So why pay property tax now , give me my stamp duty back and I will pay P.T. I am a low pay worker P.S. €35,000

***
The start of this recession began in 2001 and it was held back by the U.S. Government. Then the unions here got higher and higher wages and our government agreed with them, so prices of things went up with the wages. So then, many companies left Ireland because the wages were too high and so they went to cheaper countries. The rule of government is to govern? A Co. Louth viewer.

***

why has the bloodstock industry escaped tax free not one person has mentiond this rich area is there even vat on stud fees thomas carroll co meath

***
If our money was being spent the same way as it is from taxes in Denmark & Germany them we would have no problem paying their level of tax.. Maria in Wexford