Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

Yesterday the Taoiseach came into the House and, effectively, took between €3,500 and €4,000 per annum from the pockets of public service workers. I was contacted today by members of the public service and it is costing some up to €114 or €116 per week. The public service did not cause the current problems but there was an agenda driven by the media, in coalition with the Government, to nail public servants. The circulation of daily newspapers is down by in excess of 30% because all people are reading is bad news as the print media run with the Government agenda.

Why are we here and why is the country in the state it is? It is the bubble created by the Government, developers and bankers. In the Bacon report of June 2000 the Government was warned that it was creating a bubble, as opportunists were buying properties with the tax-free allowance given for properties built and the tax incentives given by the Government to developers to build massive housing schemes and hotels.

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