Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It has done nothing to reform the public service, to cut out waste and inefficiency that applies on a large scale throughout the governance of the State. Public service reform does not only involve weeding out numbers. I respect the provisions such as early retirement that public servants may well take up. That must be judged on its merits to see how it works. Thousands of brilliant people work in all areas of the public service who are utterly frustrated by how the system operates, those who show promise and initiative, and who perform, are strangled by a situation in which they cannot move sideways and there are too many blockages along the line. That causes a deep sense of frustration within the public service.

We pointed out how to bring about a new tax regime that would secure a bigger contribution from the very rich and from the tax exiles who, in some cases, abuse their citizenship and make little or no contribution to the country. We said there should be no bail-out for the bankers, developers and property speculators who, cheered on by the Taoiseach's party, destroyed our prosperity and competitiveness. Did the Government listen to that? Not at all. There is nothing about tax exiles in this budget except more vague promises of something to come.

There is nothing but vague promises on closing the tax reliefs that allow the rich to escape penal tax rates that now apply to everybody else. While ordinary families count the cost of this budget, higher taxes, cuts in child benefit, cuts in mortgage interest relief on the negative equity in their homes, the millionaire bankers who lent to them all are sitting pretty in their jobs, or counting the windfall gains today from this budget in which the Government proposes to acquire assets of up to €90 billion.

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