Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan referred to Scrooge, who is a character in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The Victorians - quite possibly in the form of Dickens - invented the modern concept of Christmas. The opening line of A Christmas Carol is: "Marley was dead: to begin with." The opening line of the Government's history could well be "The Celtic tiger was dead to begin with". The Celtic tiger died because the Government neglected it and instead overfed fat cat bankers and developers and others who filed into the Galway tent each year. That is why we are in the circumstances in which we currently find ourselves. Instead of a Celtic tiger, we now have fat cats.

While we continue to bail out the fat cat bankers and developers, the payment made once a year to the most vulnerable in society is being removed. This payment amounts to approximately €240 and it is issued at the time of the year when people need it most. The overall cost of the bonus is a mere pittance when compared to the amount we have invested in trying to bail out the banks, to what will be the eventual cost relating to the national asset management agency or, as Deputy Burton refers to it, the "banana bank" and to the cost of PPARS and similar projects - such as that involving the e-voting machines - which are an example of the waste that marks this Government's tenure. The removal of the bonus indicates where the Government's priorities lie.

We were led to believe that the sun shone continually for the past ten years. As soon as a rainy day arrived, however, the Government went after the vulnerable, namely, the elderly and those on long-term social welfare payments. It is these individuals who are taking the hit. There is a perverse logic to the position adopted by the Government in respect of the motion. It has stated that because we are not identifying areas of the social welfare budget from which the money might be taken, it will not accept the motion. The logic behind the Government's argument is that in order to assist certain poor people, it must take money from other poor people.

There are many areas from which the money required could be obtained. Income tax was increased in the budget - by means of the levy - but nothing was done to tax the wealthy. Action could have been taken in the context of removing the Cinderella clause that applies in respect of tax exiles or ending the tax breaks given to property investors - who benefit to the tune of €500 million per year - and others. The money is there to pay for the Christmas bonus, but it is a case of changing priorities and direction. Unfortunately, the Government has failed in this regard.

What is striking about the Christmas bonus is that those who receive it do not even spend it on themselves. Instead, they spend it on their grandchildren or on buying presents. They might spend it on a turkey for a family gathering over Christmas or so that there is a bottle of whiskey in the house in case a neighbour calls in. This money is not going to a tax exile in Portugal or to a tax haven, it is being spent in local shops and supermarkets, stimulating the local economy. The Government is looking at this in terms of savings without considering the local economic context or individual circumstances.

In my constituency, Fianna Fáil backbenchers and Government Senators have mentioned their discomfort over this issue. I have listened to them crying crocodile tears on local radio about it. They have an option today, they can relieve their discomfort by voting to support this motion. Although it is a cliché, if they do not support it, they are turkeys voting for Christmas because when I am out canvassing, the cutting of the Christmas bonus is being raised by the public on every doorstep.

I also hear on the doorsteps that we are all the same. We are not all the same, there is a clear difference that distinguishes the Labour Party from the Government. We are not going to be in Government no matter what the circumstances, we will not stand over everything. There are some areas where a line must be drawn. The public recalls that when it was proposed that VAT be introduced on children's shoes, the Labour Party walked out of Government because it was an unacceptable tax on the poor and the vulnerable. We would have also walked out of Government on this issue.

Where are the lines drawn for this Government? Deputy Rabbitte put it eloquently a week ago when he explained that the Green Party had become so entrenched in Government that no longer will the Greens walk out on Fianna Fáil but Fianna Fáil will walk out on the Greens.

Returning to Dickens's A Christmas Carole, Scrooge has been treated unfairly since the book was published. The novel closes with talk of Scrooge's generosity because the story is about redemption, where someone who was miserly at the start becoming very generous. We know that Fianna Fáil cannot be redeemed. If it is to be rehabilitated, it must happen on the Opposition benches because it will never be rehabilitated while in Government.

The most poignant scene in the novel is the Ghost of Christmas Present drawing back his cloak to show two wretched children. Scrooge asks who these children are and the ghost replies that the boy is ignorance and the girl is want, and that Scrooge should beware of them both, particularly ignorance. The ignorance the public has endured about Fianna Fáil and this Government in recent years is long past and the Minister should beware of it because the members of the public are waiting for the Government on the doorsteps.

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