Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

On asylum seekers, it is taking longer to move people. They are exercising their right to seek a judicial review. The numbers have not increased but those who are there are spending longer in accommodation while pursuing their legal rights.

Deputy O'Donnell said the temporary employment subsidy scheme is very restrictive and I agree. There are two factors - the scheme must be flexible enough to work and it must be done within the terms of state aid rules. We hope the new scheme will operate as intended.

Deputy O'Donnell also mentioned the importance of reaching our target. As I said, what we are providing for here, in total and including the earlier €69 million, is 0.75% of total net voted expenditure. I can recall budgets in this House where Ministers came in for Supplementary Estimates on the eve of the budget that exceeded that amount.

In the light of gardaí retiring, Deputy Ring made the point that it is important that gardaí are not moved from rural areas into cities. I could not agree more; I am very conscious of this. We have a phenomenon in my part of the country, and I am sure it is the same elsewhere, where people come out from cities and commit horrendous crimes against the rural population.

Deputy Morgan made a suggestion about excise duty. The Deputy will forgive me for not announcing parts of the budget in advance but he does not have long to wait to find out if his suggestion has been taken up.

Deputy Morgan also asked about increasing capital gains tax from 20% to 40%. I have news for the Deputy - it is no longer 20%. We increased it to 25% and the returns have dropped catastrophically. That trend would continue if we increased it to 40%.

Deputy Burton asked about the identity of retirees from the Department of Health and Children. I will have to get her the information on the different grades and the extent to which front line staff and administrative staff are involved.

Deputy Burton's interpretation of what happened last week is totally and absolutely at variance with the facts. I find it surprising to say the least. I was in the House last week when the original deal with the unions was mooted and the biggest cries of protest came from the Labour Party. Even when that deal has broken down and we are gone in the opposite direction, it is still protesting so we cannot win.

Deputy Burton also referred to victory for the Lenihan wing of Fianna Fáil. I am not aware there is any wings in Fianna Fáil. I am aware though that whenever the Labour Party happens to be in office there are two wings, one on the backbenches and the other on the Front Bench.

During the past year, the environment in which we operate has changed. At a time when we are experiencing such severe economic and fiscal challenges, it is even more important that our public services are organised and delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.

I commend the Supplementary Estimates to the House.

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