BACK PAGES:For those with long enough memories, today's political debates have a strong ring of the less than happy 1970s and 1980s about them, as is shown by this Dáil Sketch by Denis Coghlan about the choices and divisions facing the Fine Gael-Labour government in its final months in power.
THE MINISTER for Finance gave his Labour colleagues nothing to cheer about in the Dáil yesterday, when, on the eve of the Limerick conference, he dwelt on the deeply divisive question of cut-backs in public spending and stated that the matter of changing the system of children’s allowances was not closed.
There were no Labour men on the benches behind Mr Ryan as he unblushingly exposed the Tánaiste’s feet of clay and suggested that, despite Mr Corish’s opposition to any change in children’s allowances, the matter would be discussed not only by the Cabinet, but by the Tri-partite conference as well.
At first it appeared that the Minister was being unwittingly led into reopening the conflict with Mr Corish through the able questioning of Fianna Fáil’s George Colley, but the extent of his replies, and the freedom with which they were given, soon dissuaded one of that likelihood. The eagerness of the Minister to shock the public into accepting discussion on cut-backs was displayed earlier in the day when Mr Ryan encouraged Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Brien to ask him about the possible abolition of tax concessions to artists, writers and composers.
The tenacity of the Minister in pursuing a goal close to his heart is well known and, yesterday, his favourite word, “equity”, was joined by the phrase, “the elimination of circular transfers”. In reply to Mr Colley, who asked what steps were being taken to eliminate circular transfers and minimise the tax burden, Mr Ryan said the Green Paper had envisaged the rationalisation of existing transfers, but it had not yet been possible to “commence with the social partners the thorough examination envisaged in the Green Paper”.
When Mr Colley enquired whether the proposal in the Green Paper covered such items as agricultural grants, children’s allowances, disability benefits and free school transport, the Minister blandly replied that all matters in which people received payments to which they themselves had contributed most of the cash would fall within the terms of the section.
He was more forceful when replying to Fergus O’Brien’s question on “the estimated annual loss in tax concessions to writers, artists, etc., under the Finance Acts”. The costs, said Mr Ryan, of exempting certain earnings of writers, composers, artists and others was about £400,000 a year, and the number of persons benefiting was 637.
When Mr O’Brien asked if the Minister thought it desirable that an elitist group should continue to benefit from such a scheme, John Wilson of Fianna Fáil described the suggestion as disgraceful, and Mr Ryan countered that it was hardly disgraceful that a deputy should suggest the introduction of equity into the tax system. The deputy, he averred, had made a suggestion which merited consideration. Mr Wilson got stuck in. Was the Minister really considering withdrawing tax concessions from artists, composers and writers? Mr Ryan quietly replied that there was a very valid argument in favour of equity between one person and another. And when the Fianna Fáil man asked the Minister to agree that there had been an advantage to the country arising out of the special tax concessions, the Minister put him down. “There is no evidence that that is so,” he intoned.
Ray Burke, of Fianna Fáil, was stung into speech. “God Almighty,” he declared, “doesn’t the Minister know what is going on in the country?” Then Mr O’Brien got back in. Old-age pensioners, he said, had to pay tax on a pension they received from outside the country, and he strongly urged the Minister “to do away with this bonanza” for this elitist group.
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