Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I thank the Deputy. We now see where light-touch regulation has got us and is it any wonder public servants have their dander up?

This morning Deputy Bruton dealt with the question of the privilege conferred by limited liability. In a company it is a very serious matter if the privilege conferred by limited liability is abused, leading to employees suffering. It is entirely more serious in the banking sector because if that sector abuses the privileges conferred by company law and the construct that is limited liability, it has an impact on the economy as a whole and all our lives. That is what has happened and rather than seeing us dealing with it, the public servants see us tolerating the same people in place and the timorousness of the Government and the Minister. In the meantime, the public servants are asked to pay through the nose.

There is no prospect of a recovery plan and although the basis of one was laid with the social partners, it now seems to have been abandoned. We are going forward slowly while putting our hands into the pockets of public servants and taking out significant moneys irrespective of their means or family circumstances, such as unemployed spouses, and so on. As Deputy Gogarty has stated, it is not fair.

See this speech in context