I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.

A number of weeks ago Social Justice Ireland revealed that one in ten children goes to school without proper clothing or breakfast. The CSO revealed recently that 10% of the population is living in food poverty. Today we read, in a report from Trinity College and the ESRI, that two thirds of families of thousands of teenagers surveyed for the Growing Up In Ireland study are experiencing significant hardship and that the number of families in that situation has doubled in four years. Another survey reveals that nine out of ten people believe that after the forthcoming budget they will have less money to pay for basic food items.

It is incredible that poverty and hunger are stalking the land in the 21st century. Against this background the Government plans to impose a tax of between €400 and €500 per year on the homes of already struggling families. Is there any red line the Labour Party will not cross? Is it willing to drive hundreds of thousands of families into poverty and hunger? Can the Tánaiste give us an assurance that those who are already struggling to put food on the table, clothe their children and pay their bills will be given protection and perhaps even relief in the forthcoming budget?

Once again Deputy Boyd Barrett manages to twist things. The figures he cited refer not to people who are in poverty but to those who are at risk of poverty. The reality is that Ireland has one of the lowest levels of poverty risk in the OECD. That said, however, poverty and risk of poverty are real concerns for this Government. That is why we have to restore our public finances. We are borrowing €3 out of every €10 that we spend on social protection, education, health and delivery of services. If we cannot continue to do that we will be condemning the children of the future to poverty. This Government is not going to do that. Our priority is to restore our public finances so that we can pay for the social protection programmes required to keep people out of poverty and in a decent living. That is why we have prioritised getting people into employment, sustaining employment and working towards a sound economy. The best way of getting out and staying out of poverty is to have a job and a decent income. That is the priority of this Government.

Although we would all wish it were otherwise, we are in a financial crisis. We can complain forever about why we got into that financial crisis or who was responsible for putting us into it, but the responsibility of the Government, which we are not going to shirk, is to get out of the economic crisis and ensure the country has the resources to provide for our people and keep them out of poverty.

Hear, hear.

I will take that as a "No". The Tánaiste cannot give an assurance to hundreds of thousands of families who are living in poverty. Approximately 700,000 children live in poverty and hundreds of thousands more are hovering just above the poverty line. He cannot assure them they will be protected or get relief from the dire circumstances they face.

The Tánaiste says there is no alternative because we must restore the public finances. A couple of weeks ago I asked a question on corporation tax which revealed that corporations that made profits in this State of €61 billion last year only paid an effective tax rate of 6.5%. If the Government brought the rate up to 12.5% it would raise between €3 billion and €4 billion and do away with the need for property taxes or further cuts in health services and education. Will the Government make corporations with multi-billion euro profits take the hit rather than families who are struggling with poverty and, in some cases, hunger?

I can give an assurance to people in this country that the approach we are taking, which is a rational approach to dealing with the financial and economic crisis-----

Obviously he was being irrational in Opposition.

-----will restore our economy, get people back to work and ensure the country has the money to provide for social protection, social services, education, health services and all the other services we need to ensure people do not slip into poverty and are supported in getting out of poverty. That cannot be done by simply shouting at the problem.

Increase the effective corporation tax rate.

Do not be daft. The rate of corporation tax in this country is, by any standard, a strong and effective rate.

These companies paid €4 billion in tax out of profits of €61 billion.

Deputy Boyd Barrett should get a grip. Stop shouting slogans at everything.

They are from your manual.

We need to continue to attract companies that will invest and create jobs here. Last year was the best in the past decade for attracting inward investment to generate direct and spin-off employment in the domestic economy. Deputy Boyd Barrett simply does not want them. He wants to chant slogans at them. He wants to send them away.

I simply want them to pay tax.

They are paying tax.

We are over time.

These are the people and companies that we want to attract to this country in order to create jobs. That is how we will get out of the economic crisis, not by running around like a blue-behind fly waving slogans.

With placards.

Signing pledges.