Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

——we would not be in this House at all.

I refer to a recent article in a Sunday newspaper in which the Minister of State's former leader said that when he left in May 2008 he left the economy in very good condition. If we were to believe Deputy Bertie Ahern it is true to say that in a very short time consisting of six months the current Taoiseach and his Ministers, including the Minister of State, have destroyed the economy. However, I am sure no one believes the statement Deputy Ahern made at that time either.

The Labour Party motion describes this proposed pension levy as unfair as it places an unacceptable burden on public servants with modest incomes. It has been argued that public servants are in permanent employment with a good pension. I wonder what the 120 people employed by Kildare County Council, who were let go in the past few weeks, think of that suggesting? What was the permanency attached to those jobs? What was permanency attached to the 1,000 let go by local authorities right around the country in the past few weeks? Where were the pensions and the permanency for those unfortunate people?

This proposed pension levy is now regarded by everyone as a wage cut and it will put families under tremendous pressure as it will create further problems for them. People have contacted me to outline their individual cases and their grave concerns for their income and future. They talk about their children and the effect on them. In many instances this wage cut will ensure that their child will not go to college because the Minister for Education and Science has outlined time and again that free third-level education will be a thing of the past come April or May this year when he gets his opportunity to talk to An Bord Snip.

Last night the Minister in a flippant manner gave one of the worst speeches ever in this House. He stated:

I can assure Deputies that the Government did not take the decision to introduce this measure lightly. We know it calls for a measure of sacrifice but it is called for so as to avoid a worse fate.

He further stated that the pension-related deduction was not seeking to scapegoat the public service. Was there ever a worse statement made in this House? It will scapegoat the public service. Since I became involved in politics in 1992, I have seen the work carried out by public servants on behalf of this State. Now the Minister says we are not going to scapegoat them when in fact he is undermining each and every one of them. He is not only undermining public servants but also their families and their children in the future. This is the reason we have so many angry people outside the gates today. This is the reason so many angry people were knocking on the Minister of State's door too because they see no future in this Government for their children and for the education of their children which is their right.

We have one opportunity to get this right. This Government has fobbed off that opportunity. It has not thought it out. It has tried to undermine ICTU and its members. Out of the side of its mouth the Government suggested that ICTU told it that if it introduced the levy, congress would walk away and it would be all right on the day. It was a scandalous and scurrilous remark intended to undermine ICTU. Our one hope is that the Government will return to the table to ensure that a proper and right agreement can be reached with the social partners to benefit the State in the first instance and, in the second instance, to be fair across communities.

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