No tax hike for low or middle paid says Labour
"We will not do so because there is no need to do so," he said in his leader's address. "Economic growth of 5% per annum, on the back of our accumulated prosperity, would, by the end of the decade, generate an additional €12 billion in today's terms, without any increase in the burden of taxation."
A second reason why it would be wrong to hike taxes on such families, he said, was because there had been "wholesale, widespread, endemic tax evasion" by the elite in society.
"A third reason why increases in personal tax rates are unnecessary is that this PD/Fianna Fáil government has turned waste of public money into an art form," he added, citing the €52 million spent on electronic voting machines as an example.
Mr Rabbitte dismissed the views of the "Matt Talbots" who argued personal tax increases were the only true measure of a political party's commitment to social justice.
"What we will do is insist on a fairer tax system," he said. "The era of the designer tax break for millionaires must end. (Labour finance spokeswoman) Joan Burton has called for high rollers to pay a basic minimum amount of tax to the common good, and I believe that tax-compliant citizens everywhere consider that a reasonable position."
The pledge on taxes was just one of several commitments Mr Rabbitte made. After welcoming delegates' support for a motion giving him the power to form a pre-election pact with Fine Gael, he insisted his intention was to put Labour "at the heart of Government nowhere else."
"I am not interested in making up the numbers for any other party."
The party leader then outlined the priorities for the party should it be returned to office, including childcare, health, education, workers' rights, anti-social behaviour, and Garda reform.
He envisages, for example, a universal health insurance system (compulsory insurance affording every individual the same access to treatment and care), with the State paying on a graduated basis for those who could afford it.
"Ultimately, we will not tackle the problems in the Irish health service until we change the system, so that money follows the patient and not the other way around," Mr Rabbitte said.
In the area of education, Labour would seek to guarantee "that no child in Ireland will be taught in a class bigger than 25."
As for law and order issues, he said the party did not rule out anti-social behaviour orders "as a last resort." He believed the central question, however, remained "one of enforcement and the need to properly structure and resource community policing."
He stressed that a garda ombudsman was necessary, as well as an independent commission on policing "to set out a road map for turning the force into a 21st-century police service. We need to identify and set up new structures to ensure accountability, independent scrutiny and, above all, partnership with the community."