I also welcome the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Oisín Quinn, to Seanad Éireann. He has made available his home in the Mansion House to Members many times for different events. I attended the function for Senator John Whelan's book launch, at which people had a most enjoyable evening. Consequently, it is only proper that Members would welcome him to Seanad Éireann.

I am sure the Lord Mayor and other Members will agree with me that the racist attack that took place recently on O'Connell Street, Dublin, against staff working in a Spar shop was absolutely appalling. It is reflective of racial attacks on non-national workers, better known as the new Irish, which are taking place in the city and around the country. I call on the Leader to make known to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Members' displeasure at these attacks and that something effective must be done to deal with them. It is completely unacceptable to think something like this could happen on O'Connell Street, the main street of the capital. I seek an end to such behaviour which does not belong in a modern society.

I hope the people who were victims of this assault are making a recovery. Racial discrimination and attacks are totally unacceptable. It is not the type of message we want to send from modern Ireland and the great city which Dublin is.

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the Lord Mayor of Dublin. The post dates back to 1229, which is 15 years short of 800 years. I welcome the Lord Mayor's interest in programmes such as the vibrant villages series, to which Senator Ivana Bacik referred, and his support for a plebiscite for a directly elected Lord Mayor. I thank him for being a generous host to Senator John Whelan and other Members of the House. It is appropriate we should return his hospitality today.

Some Ministers may be interested in meeting the Lord Mayor. One of his predecessors, Mark Rainsford, was the founder of St. James's Gate Brewery. The Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, is tackling the problem in that area and he may want to know if there are any files covering that area in the Mansion House. The Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, will undoubtedly want to talk to the Lord Mayor about Bartholomew Ball who was Lord Mayor from 1553 to 1554. We can read from the history of the office that his widow was martyred by their eldest son, Walter. There should be some exciting files covering that in the Mansion House and the Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, might like to take a look at them.

I welcome what Senator Michael Mullins said about the economic report launched last evening. We are creating 50,000 jobs currently and 61,000 were created last year, which was a bonus. There are some warning signs in the report. On the view that inflation would erode the debt and that a little more inflation would be good, I point out that inflation would also erode jobs. Therefore, it is a route which should only be embarked upon with caution. Table 7 in the report shows that tax revenue between now and 2018 will go up by €10.3 billion and the expenditure reductions will be €3.3 billion. There is a very heavy tax burden coming down the tracks which we hope will be covered by economic growth.

The section on the reform agenda was not published last night. It comes from the Taoiseach's Department and it might be a topic for debate in the House. There is also the suggestion, with which I believe most people would agree, that income tax is too high and that it can be solved by increasing the universal social charge, but the universal social charge is a form of income tax. That would be a bit of a three-card trick and such an approach would need to be very carefully analysed before we go down that road. There is a problem with people on an income of €32,000 a year going to the 42% tax band, as the Minister said, but it should be tackled without any secret routes about reducing income tax and increasing the universal social charge.