The Taoiseach will recall that the Minister for Finance introduced us to Duncan and Mary, parents of a typical family with two children and an income of €40,000, on budget day. The Minister said that they would be better off by €95 as a result of the budget. Can I ask the Taoiseach how he thinks Duncan and Mary are faring now, after the settlement with the dentists?

Dunkin' Donuts.

EUROSTAT announced this morning that living standards in Ireland have been eroded to the extent that we are now just ahead of Spain, Portugal and Greece. How does the Taoiseach think Duncan and Mary stand after spending an additional €274 on college fees, €178 on VHI, €78 on ESB bills, €200 on medical prescriptions, €69.50 on stamp duty on ATM cards and credit cards, €90 on refuse collection, €30 on car tax, 9% on gas bills, 10 cent on a pint and a substantial amount on telephone bills? Is it not true that Duncan and Mary will soon leave the car at home? Duncan and Mary are less well-off by more than €1,000 since the Minister stood up in this House on budget day.

Duncan's income is shrunken.

Does the Taoiseach agree that Duncan and Mary's problems have been caused by a rip-off Government in rip-off Ireland? Every time one picks up a newspaper, one learns of a new spate of price increases. Patients were required to pay €13.08 on top of PRSI to get a filling under the existing dental agreement, but they will now be required to pay up to €50, as well as PRSI, as a result of the removal of the cap.

The Deputy's two minutes are up.

Does the Government's deal with the dentists not represent a complete surrender, which might have happened last July? Is it not indicative of modern Ireland under this Government?

I do not know what Duncan and Mary would think of the Labour Party's wealth tax, which would probably cost them more than the expenses the Deputy has mentioned.

It would not affect them.

Their house would have to go as well.

They would not have to pay it.

I welcome the agreement with the Irish Dental Association, which will protect PRSI patients and will result in a return to a full service. The dispute has gone on for some time. The Government's main policy is to keep people working and to give them the opportunity to be in employment so they can improve their standard of living. We intend to keep taxes at low levels, 42% and 20%, and to keep additional charges to a minimum.

Do the Deputies opposite remember what the tax rate was after they had been in Government?

I welcome the dental association's agreement to display price lists, which has been a long-standing issue. Basic preventative dental treatment, including examination, will remain free. The Department of Social and Family Affairs will pay a 10% increase in its fees to dentists and, where relevant, dental treatment fees. The Minister has given many examples of the changes that will result from this agreement. PRSI patients earning under €45,000 per annum will face an increase of 10% on all treatments other than fillings, which will be charged at a nominal rate. Negotiations to resolve this difficulty were under way for a long time and many people were unable to get any cover for dental treatment while they were ongoing. I do not accept Deputy Rabbitte's assertions in relation to price increases. While there have been some increases, there has been an attempt to keep to a minimum increases in areas that the Government can directly control. We have tried to spread price increases in a fair and equitable way.

That is nonsense.

Deputy Rabbitte forgot to mention the OECD report, which has been published since I last had an opportunity to speak on these matters, although I am sure he has commented on it in his other discussions. The report showed that Ireland is one of the fairest societies in the OECD in relation to single parents and the less well-off—

They must be joking.

—and has one of the lowest tax rates for lower paid workers. They are also significant factors in this society.

I am sorry I mentioned the rip-off by dentists because that is the area on which the Taoiseach has a note to read from. He has no note on the other matters and is all over the shop on them. Not only will Duncan and Mary not be subject to wealth tax, but by the time the Taoiseach is finished, they will be eligible for family income supplement.

By an array of wealth taxes, increased charges and new levies and charges, the modest gain of €95 per annum on budget day has now been eroded to the extent that the ordinary family is €1,050 worse off, taking the Minister for Finance's example of one spouse working at €40,000 per annum with two children. That is the reality of the wealth taxes and it is borne out by the EUROSTAT report. There has been excess ive profit-taking in this economy, unchecked by anything the Government has done in recent years. That is the extent to which the ordinary family is worse off.

I reiterate that as seen in the EUROSTAT, CSO and OECD figures, the ordinary family in Ireland is working and that there is lower unemployment than in other countries. There are good and funded services, with the State paying a substantial amount towards those. More money is put into the health services here than in many countries, perhaps with the exception of France.

A range of State agencies have been involved in trying to control price and perhaps they could do more. I am on record as saying that there should be more regulation in this area and there are questions on that on the Order Paper. However, the statutory powers are in place to control that. It has been agreed with ICTU and IBEC that there will be a combined effort in areas where there has been excessive profit-taking and where unjustified price increases could be controlled. The figures which have come out in recent days, whether from EUROSTAT, the CSO or the OECD, show that the people of Ireland are working and that the less well off are treated more fairly than in other societies in the OECD.