Govt must pursue tax dodgers

Dear sir - The Social Partners have been meeting Government officials to try and sort the country"s finances, the majority of which, in my opinion, have been caused by the Government. The scale of the figures presented by the Department of Finance in early January were truly horrendous and have enormous implications for our society and our economy. They are the consequence of the reckless agenda pursued by the PDs and the right-wing of Fianna Fail between 2002 and 2007, during which our tax base was dismantled in the interests of the well-off. Capital taxation was all but abolished and top tax rates were reduced to a degree unequalled in any western developed country. This took place during the property bonanza, when permission for housing developments did not take into account school buildings and recreation facilities, leaving thousands of children looking for school places and no sporting facilities available. Nothing was taken into account, apart from pleasing developers who looked after the political party during the boom. All this was camouflaged by the credit-led property bubble it generated, which has now exploded against a background of an unprecedented depression, to the detriment of everyone in Ireland. The problems we now face must be met, but trying to solve the problem at the expense of working people and the less well-off in society will be met with the greatest resistance from everyone with a social conscience, backed up by the trade union movement. The only way to tackle this issue with any success is on the basis of all sectors of society contributing and the best able to do so, contributing the most. Attacking public sector workers on their own is just a myth. In my opinion, we must start with the financial institutions" tax dodgers and those with wealth who refuse to play their part. Yours, Cllr Tommy Grimes, Fr McCullen Park, Kells.