Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As for the pension levy, 22 public service bodies and their subsidiaries listed in the Schedule to the Bill will also be exempt due largely to the commercial nature of their remit.

We will apply a graduated and progressive pay cut to salaries up to the levels below the senior public servants covered by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. As I stated in my response to Leaders' Questions from Deputy Gilmore, for persons in the occupations to which he referred the cut will be 5% on income - whatever that would work out at - up to €30,000, 7.5% on the next €40,000 and 10% on the next €55,000 of salary. It produces reductions in salaries ranging from 5% to 8% in the case of salaries up to €125,000.

On the question of when the recess will be, that will be decided on Thursday. It would be our intention to return on a date sooner than any of those over the past 15 years.

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