I want to ask the Taoiseach about the breakdown of social partnership and the fact that talks are in abeyance for a new social contract, following events at Irish Ferries and elsewhere. Is he aware that there is as deep a concern in the trade union movement about the Government's failure to meet commitments on taxation as the concern about displacement and Irish Ferries? I refer him to an answer to a question asked by Deputy Burton last week, where she established that there are 160,000 more workers paying tax at the marginal rate now than when this Government started in 2002. The Government made a pledge in 2002 that 80% of people would be paying tax at the standard rate. That was essentially incorporated in Sustaining Progress. Although this is the third and last budget under that agreement, the figures have gone back significantly. Some 73% of people were paying at the standard rate in 2002, but now only 67% are paying at the standard rate. This has led to a situation where people on average industrial earnings are paying the 42% rate. Somebody earning €1,900 in excess of the average industrial wage in 2002 only then became liable for the marginal rate. In 2005, workers being paid €1,200 less than the average industrial wage are now liable at 42%.

This is the con at the heart of the tax policy driven by the Progressive Democrats. The cosmetics are put right and the indirect taxes and the stealth taxes are then piled on. The biggest stealth tax of all is the failure to index the standard rate tax band. As a result of the failure to index the standard tax band, people on very modest incomes are liable to pay income tax at the marginal or top rate. That is the con at the heart of the Progressive Democrats mantra about 42% and 20%. That looks great until people look at their actual wage packet. For hundreds of thousands of workers, this is a very serious point. For the trade unions that got this commitment in Sustaining Progress, the situation is getting worse and the number of people paying at the top rate is increasing.

I hope we can begin the social partnership talks shortly. There are some difficulties which are well known and I have addressed them already. There is an important meeting today at An Post and there are ongoing contacts at Irish Ferries. I hope that both those issues can be resolved and I ask people involved to do their utmost. It will help industrial relations overall in the country, as well as social partnership.

In successive budgets in the last few years, the Government has worked on the tax rates. We have the lowest level of personal taxation in Europe. We have also tried to deal with the biggest problem in Irish tax policy, namely, the tax wedge, so that people on average wages and above would not be drifting into the tax net. I assume Deputy Rabbitte is excluding from his figures the 657,000 people who do not pay any tax at all. He is only referring to those who pay tax. The last budget removed tens of thousands of people from the tax net. As a result of that, 657,000 of the 1.9 million income earners last year were exempt from taxes on their earnings. That represents over 34% of all income earners. This compares with 26% of all earners seven or eight years ago. Since 1997, the average tax rates as a proportion of gross income have fallen in every category.

What about bin charges?

Every survey carried out by the OECD, the EU and all independent analyses show that this is the position. After the last budget, the average tax rate for a person on the average industrial wage will be 11% lower than it was in 1997. It comes to less than 17%, compared with less than 28% in 1997.

The Deputy makes a point about the number of people who drift back into the higher rate of tax. He made use of figures given in a question last week which I will not dispute. It is the Government's policy to try to move as many as possible of those paying taxes, excluding the 34% I mentioned, onto the lower rate. Last year and the year before, we did not change much in respect of tax bands because of our actions in respect of lower pay. While that exacerbated the situation, this is an issue to which, as the Minister said, we will return.

I do not exclude any figures. Let us be clear about this. The Government made the pledge to have 80% of taxpayers paying at the standard rate. This was repeated in Sustaining Progress. Currently, 67% pay at the standard rate, while at the time the Government made the pledge, 73% paid at the standard rate. These are the straightforward figures.

As regards removing people from the net, an additional 37,000 people on the national minimum wage became liable for tax after the Labour Court made its recommendation on that matter. It is a simple matter of sleight of hand without indexation. It is similar to the fuel allowance, which has not been indexed. The fuel allowance is €9. I am sure Government Deputies receive letters about this from older people in particular, who depend for their heating on €9, especially having regard to the escalation in the price of fuel in recent years.

The Deputy's time has concluded.

In Sustaining Progress, the Taoiseach made a commitment that 80% of taxpayers would go onto the standard rate. The figure is at 67%. There is widespread concern in the trade union movement in that respect. As for disposable income, we do not have the lowest personal taxes in Europe. We have the lowest personal tax rates. That is the difference, because the Government is not taking into account——

That is not correct.

I will not take lectures from Deputy Martin in respect of figures.

I will not take lectures from Deputy Rabbitte.

He would not know a figure if——

We will not take lessons from Deputy Rabbitte. An increase of only £1.50 for old age pensioners.

——it jumped up and bit him.

Deputy Rabbitte without interruption. I again remind Deputy Rabbitte that his time has concluded.

If I had anything to do with it, it would not simply be Barry McSweeney that was being moved aside.

We will meet Deputy Rabbitte on the hustings.

According to the answer given to Deputy Burton last week, the number of people paying at the standard rate is 624,000 while the number of people paying at the higher rate is 666,440. The Taoiseach made a commitment but the situation is regressing. What will he do about it?

Another broken promise.

I have already stated that the rates are fixed. Obviously however, there are other issues which were not changed in the last few years and to which we can return. We decided to help the less well-off. We increased the minimum wage and——

The Government allowed millionaires to pay no tax at all.

We made the minimum wage tax-exempt. We took an enormous number of people, 34% of the entire workforce, out of the tax net altogether.

Including Denis O'Brien.

The Taoiseach should be allowed speak without interruption.

Single people who faced an enormous tax wedge were taken from the net altogether. I acknowledge that we have not yet reached the target of 80% and we have given the relevant figures.

As for the fuel allowance, we took two good measures for the benefit of pensioners. We substantially increased the amounts they receive and extended the number of weeks during which they are entitled to fuel allowances.

They were only increased last week.

That was extremely helpful and beneficial. We have taken the elderly from the tax net with the age exemption scheme operated for people over 75. Such people are now exempt from tax up to limits which now stand at €16,500 for single people and €33,000 for married people. This represents a significant increase for people. As for the fuel allowances, we have increased the number of weeks covered. While I know that energy costs have risen we have done much to help such people. As I understand it, on every survey that has been conducted, we are the lowest in respect of tax.