Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Is the total contribution towards the resolution of the public finances reduced to approximately €900 million rather than the €1.4 billion claimed for the pension levy? Is the Minister confident that between now and the publication of the Bill he can iron out the many irrational inconsistencies in the scheme? Does he accept the claim from this side of the House about the unfairness of its application to the lower paid? Does he acknowledge that some modestly higher-paid civil servants will pay less proportionately towards the pension levy than low-paid civil servants, because of the application of the tax system?

Is the Minister considering any extra credit facilities, outside of the banking system, for small businesses that are deeply in trouble? Does the Minister accept, contrary to the public view, that there are 255,000 public servants earning less than €60,000 and that 45,000 are earning more than €60,000 and that the levy is skewed to take disproportionately from the lower paid?

The issue of industrial civil servants has not been raised. Industrial civil servants pay full PRSI, contribute towards the old age contributory pension scheme — there is a double disregard for that — arising from which they get a very modest pension. Will those thousands of industrial civil servants, mostly on low pay, have the pension levy applied to them on their gross income? Would that not be entirely unfair?

Various claims have been made about why the social partnership talks broke down. Is it not a fact that in the framework document the Government committed to all sectors and interests in society making their contribution, but it has produced a pension levy scheme that addresses only one aspect of this? Issues were raised, such as the difficulties with regard to pensions in the private sector, homes protection, corporate governance, executive pay etc., but as far as the social partners were concerned there was no move on any of these issues but only on the question of the pension levy. Is that not a very long way from any kind of social solidarity contract?

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