Over the last year and three quarters there has been a major metamorphosis in the economy. The Government have tackled the most difficult problems facing us in a new and imaginative way. There is a general agreement that this is one of the best Governments the country ever had.
Interest rates have tumbled and inflation is at its lowest level for many years so half of the job has been done in an excellent way. It has been pointed out by the Minister for Finance and by members of the Government at various times that taxation rates are too high. However, everything achieved to date has been done with a view to finishing the other part of the job, which is to tackle the exorbitantly high levels of taxation. In particular, for too long now single people have found it virtually impossible to find an incentive to work in this country. A single person earning £11,736 per annum after crossing that point will have to pay 58p in every £ thereafter. This has led to a drain of a great many very talented professional people out of this country over the years. The matter must be addressed and redressed if we are to succeed in making this country a viable place for them to work in.
With the coming of self-assessment a greater onus is placed on the taxpayer to pay his taxes, but because of the high level of taxation many people, ordinary workers, find it impossible to meet their obligations. We must create an incentive to work. The foundation stone has been laid for this by the Government and the way is now almost open towards tackling the serious problem of taxation. I do not believe the black economy can be seriously attacked until the high levels of taxation are addressed. Whether we like it or not, many people far prefer to do some work on the side rather than work through the system. An environment must be created in which people want to be within the system. As I have said, the low interest rates below the rates of inflation have created a tremendous environment for people to want to work, and the job may well be completed when the taxation problem has been addressed.
At this stage of the development of the economy risks seem to outweigh the benefits which may accrue because of the high level of taxation. This, in turn, appears to be leading to a position in which employers are not as encouraged as they might otherwise be to take on people. The foundation stone of the attack on this problem has been laid marvellously by this Government in the past year and three-quarters, and under this Government we can now look forward to the day when taxation rates will be an incentive to risk capital and create employment.
I have long taken the view that this Government have a tremendous commitment to those people unfortunate enough to be unemployed and to be disabled and to all of those entitled to social welfare allowances. Listening to some of the Opposition spokespersons in this debate today, one would imagine that these people have somehow been forgotten. The reality is, of course, quite different. It was this Government who for the first time ever addressed the problem of those at the bottom of the unemployment scale in an imaginative and encouraging manner. More has been done for those at the bottom of the scale under this Government and in these Estimates than has ever been done prior to now.
If there are anomalies in the social welfare system the one I would most like to address is that relating to the family income supplement. When a child reaches 18 years of age, irrespective of whether that child is or is not still at school, that child is deducted from the numbers of children the family have for the purposes of calculating the FIS. I take the view that a man in receipt of FIS whose child is still at school, whether the child is 18 years of age or nor, should have his level of payment maintained at the same level. To do otherwise is to penalise the individuals concerned.
I would like to address myself briefly to the Health Estimate and in particular to the call which has gone out to centralise the health service. Centralisation of the health service would take health care further away from the people than ever before. Under local authorities there was a good health system. With the coming in of health boards there was a certain fear among the population at large that decisions affecting their everyday lives would be taken forever more out of their hands. However, the health boards have been successful. In the southern region alone since their formation the Southern Health Board have built two of the most modern, well equipped hospitals in western Europe, one in Tralee and the other in Cork. However, to centralise the health service further would be a disastrous mistake. It would mean that local representation which is required at every level of democracy would go out the window and decisions affecting localities would be made by people who had no knowledge of those localities, by faceless bureaucrats who might not understand what precisely the problems were on the ground. I oppose strongly any attempt to centralise the health service.
Let me move on to the environment. To a large extent county development teams have lost their relevance for many people. In most counties the vast majority of the ratepayers and the population generally are not aware of what county development teams are doing. To a large extent this is because county development teams are for the most part made up of people who have no experience in industry or business. Far too often in Ireland the people involved in committees such as county development teams singularly lacked the expertise, though not the goodwill. The county development teams should be restructured and those involved in industry and business who have proven themselves to be successful should be invited to join the fight against unemployment and emigration within their own counties. These people have a tremendous contribution to make because of their own expertise. It is time to tap the resources of Irish business and industry in order to bring these people within the development process. They are the people who had the original ideas and who might now pool their resources with the aim of bringing about a greater level of industry, business and employment.
Prior to this Government coming into power I took the view that tourism had been under-utilised and our potential had never been realised. In the period 1981 all the way through to 1986 when tourism figures were growing worldwide our share of the market stayed stagnant or declined. It is very difficult to understand why this should be when one considers the resources which were pumped into Bord Fáilte at that time. It is clear that the tourism industry has taken a turn for the better and over the past number of years we have seen a significant increase because of Government measures with task forces, incentives, etc. However, much more needs to be done. It is unbelievable, for example, that the Japanese people, who seem to be among the most travelled tourists in the world, have never come to our shores in any significant numbers.
It is clear that countries such as Japan will have to be tapped in the future by the Irish tourist industry. It is also clear that the Irish tourist industry must continue to move in a market-orientated way with a view to attracting tourists here. For far too long our approach has not been market-orientated. For far too long we have had officials at various levels in the tourist industry here who were inactive in the market place with the result that other countries with much less to offer gained more tourists while we stayed stagnant or even declined. We can no longer live with the situation whereby the tourist industry is not marketed properly. Nowadays it is clear that those involved in the industry will have to go out into a marketplace which is, to say the least, aggressive, in a new and imaginative way. The foundation stone has been laid for this but an ever greater emphasis has to be laid on it.
The increased structural funds offer a unique opportunity for this country in that we now have the opportunity to lay the infrastructure for 1992. It is absolutely crucial that these funds are utilised in order to lay the basis for the single European market in 1992, in order to lay the infrastructure that has been lacking for so long in such a way that the resources of the country are at last tapped with a view to assisting the economy and our young people in particular. In 1992 we will be offered a whole new challenge and a whole new world. It is absolutely essential that not alone are Irish business and industry prepared but that the infrastructure is laid in order to maximise our benefits from the single European market.
Listening to some Opposition speakers one would imagine that it was this Government who had created the problems of unemployment and emigration, that all of the sad scenes we have witnessed in this regard were the creation of this Government. It is only fair to point out that these problems were not created by Fianna Fáil. A spiralling national debt over several years under the direct control of the previous Coalition Government, when nothing was done with a view to halting it, laid the basis of the problems of emigration and unemployment that are with us today. It is hypocritical, to say the least, for anyone who was a member of the Government at that time to lay the blame at the feet of the present Government. The truth is that in tackling the problem of spiralling interest rates, the problems of taxation and all of the other problems which have afflicted the Irish economy like a cancer over the last number of years, the first sign of hope for emigrants and unemployed alike has been created. The impetus for the creation of employment and the prevention of emigration was given by this Government. The problem was not created by the Government.
In future years the approach of the Government of today will be seen in the history books as one giant step forward for the country and its people.
At this stage I would pay tribute not just to the Government but to the tremendous patriotism of the Irish people who have acknowledged and accepted the difficulties we face. They have seen the Government, day after day, retrench with a view to creating a foundation for employment and preventing emigration, and have done so in the spirit of tremendous patriotism and acceptance in the interests of the country. The country knows that the Government are putting the country first and it is no surprise that the country is putting the Government first.