Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I am sure the Minister is aware that, even when one includes free schemes, a single pensioner's income does not amount to much more than €12,500. That is half of what Ministers each accepted in their recent salary increase of €25,000. How does the Minister expect to compensate people for the extraordinary increase in food costs? Poorer people spend more of their income on food. The Minister said nothing about the 600,000 plus on wages so low that they do not pay tax. Will he enlighten us as to what his approach will be on budget day? Does he propose to raise the tax on cigarettes?

An issue arises in respect of food costs. Pig farmers feed their animals cereal which is continually rising in price. They are being badly affected and not doing particularly well in terms of the price they pay versus their output. This is a complex matter. As the budget approaches, how does the Minister propose to address it?

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