Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

Following this week's events, it is important we praise the many excellent teachers, gardaí, nurses, doctors and other workers in the public sector. The pension levy is not a levy but a tax on those in the public sector. It is similar to the 1% earnings levy introduced in the budget. Again, the pension levy has unfairly targeted the wrong people, that is the younger members of the Civil Service and the public service who bought houses at expensive rates and have a higher level of personal indebtedness as a result. The Government has got it wrong again. Fianna Fáil and the Greens are unbelievably out of touch.

Public sector managers, such as superintendents in the Garda and directors of services in the local authorities, should be allowed to manage properly. They are being prevented from doing so because of the "use it or lose it" philosophy in the public sector. By this I mean when an annual budget allocation is not drawn down fully, the following year the benefit of the same amount is not given. It is a ridiculous situation in which public service managers find themselves. They should be allowed to make cuts in areas in which they know there is waste with a guarantee of their subsequent budget allocations not being reduced.

Cutting public sector pay by 7% does not provide the opportunity to cut out bad practices in the public sector. Local authorities must now apply for discharge licences from the Environmental Protection Agency. It is a case of one State agency applying to another for a licence. Wexford County Council has estimated these licences will cost it €1 million. Multiply that by the number of local authorities in the State and one sees a large amount of waste. There are many other examples of waste that need to be cut out.

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