People Before Profit TD Points To The Weakness Of The Irish Economic Model Following Nevin Quarterly Economic Report

People Before Profit TD points to the weakness of the Irish economic model following NEVIN Quarterly Economic Report

Need to tax multinationals now so we can invest in domestic economy to prevent disaster in the wake of the next economic shock

Commenting on the NEVIN Quarterly Economic Report (Autumn 2018) which was released yesterday, People Before Profit TD and member of the Oireachtas Budgetary Scrutiny Committee Richard Boyd Barrett said that the report “demonstrates the exposure that our economic model faces when the next economic downturn rears its head.”

He said that the “folly” of the economic policies implemented by successive governments and being trumpeted by Fine Gael is leaving Ireland and the people who live in this society “in a very precarious position” because the economic model which Ireland uses is based disproportionately on the whims of multinational companies and finance capital.

He pointed out that the government need to implement an about turn regarding our economic policy in line with what People Before Profit have put forward in the ‘Recovery for All’ pre Budget 2019 Statement.

Some of the highlighted measures in the document that the TD said should be taken on are:

  • Make the corporations and multinationals pay the 12.5% tax rate so that more money can be gathered into the exchequer for investment in infrastructure.
  • Build 100,000 public housing units directly over the next five years
  • Invest in transport infrastructure and make public transport free
  • Increase wages for low paid workers, scrap FEMPI and abolish USC and introduce a high income social charge
  • Education
  • Invest in Green Energy jobs, and other areas of strategic domestic industry.

Richard Boyd Barrett TD said:

“The irresponsible Fine Gael economic policy which relies disproportionately on the multinational sector is leaving Ireland deeply exposed in the event of another economic downturn.

“It is very dangerous to base your economic model on the whims of multinationals who are only concerned with profit maximisation wherever they can get it.

“What we need to do immediately is double the tax take of the multinationals in this country. This means we would make the corporations pay the 12.5% that they are supposed to- hardly a radical measure but one that would bring in over €7 billion.

“This money could be used to bulk up our domestic economy, give workers better wages, invest in infrastructure such as housing, education, transport, green energy jobs and other areas of strategic domestic industry.

“The multinationals benefit so much from this country in terms of our well educated, English speaking work force and our proximity to Europe. What they must do now is pay their fair share and pull their weight in a society which benefits them massively.

“For the government not to react to these warnings and implement measures to create a more sustainable and robust economic model would demonstrate a very dangerous complacency in the face of a future economic downturn.”