Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I am disappointed the Minister is not willing to accept the amendments. While it is impossible to know whether, in two to three years' time, the issues that have prompted the Minister to believe the levy is the right way forward will have been resolved, it is important to recognise that this is unusual and exceptional legislation. The levy is not founded upon a fair allocation of the burden and does not relate to pension benefits. In that context, the money that will be collected will not be set aside for pension purposes. In essence, the Minister is using the levy as a mechanism to reduce the public service pay bill.

The Minister referred to the levy as a temporary measure and outlined the reasons for its introduction. If there were a sunset clause, he would be obliged to come before the House to explicitly renew the levy. Under the review mechanism, the levy will be renewed each year, without exception, and there will not be a requirement on the Government to come before the House to seek its renewal. The Minister's commitment in that regard is secondary in nature. He has indicated that it is a temporary measure and that all such measures need to be reviewed. However, people would accept his commitment as being much more serious if he set down a date by which he would be obliged to come before the House and state he was renewing the levy because the various items in the citation remain causes for concern. The Minister should be willing to shoulder responsibility in this regard and not proceed with his extremely watered-down review.

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