Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I believe these constitute savage cuts on the entire public sector. They will decimate and demoralise the public sector and it will be difficult to expect the public sector to come back, take it on the chin and provide the service the Government expects of it, having been given such a sucker punch again on foot of having been already hit recently. What is worse is that all public sector workers, from the poorly-paid clerical officers, labourers, those in part-time employment, young men and women in their first employment or those on the minimum wage, will be hit from the very first cent they earn. When one combines this with the reduction in social welfare for the blind, the deaf, the disabled and carers, as well as the cut in child benefit, it is clear the Government has deliberately targeted the weakest and most vulnerable in our society, that is, those who can least afford to take such savage cuts. The Minister of State knows as well as do I that both the Cabinet Handbook and the Lisbon treaty require that all legislative proposals should be poverty-proofed and should be assessed in respect of their impact on the people and communities affected to ensure they do not inflict damage on them.

Earlier today, Deputy Gilmore outlined in the House the figures in respect of two parents with three children who work in the public sector and who earn €30,000 each. Their total reduction in pay per week was €70 or approximately €3,600 per annum on foot of the 2010 budget. I will provide a similar figure for two people earning €25,000 each. If one breaks down the figures, the loss in net income of €774 each by two people is €1,548. The loss of child benefit will be €384, the loss of the early child care supplement will be €996, which comes to a total annual loss of €2,928, or €56 per week.

That is very substantial for a couple on very low income. Along with that, such a couple is likely to be hit by exorbitant interest rates, mortgages and the new proposed carbon tax which will be imposed on home heating oil, gas, peat and coal. If a couple has a car they will be hit by taxes on petrol and diesel. The average hit on the public sector has been 13% this year. With a minimum of 5% on top of that, it is a substantial hit in the space of 12 months. It is 20% higher for some. The lowest of the low are being hit by these cuts.

It is a harsh, mean, cynical and cruel budget which targets the weakest in our society. What compounds the problem is that the public sector which has been targeted comprises 350,000 of a total workforce of 1.8 million. The banker, the developer, the speculator, the well-paid and those in the semi-State sector are specifically excluded from the cuts. This is undoubtedly an uncaring Government and it has now gone a step further and divided Irish society. It has not been so divided since the civil war in 1922, something which the Minister of State, as an historian, would appreciate. It will leave a similar legacy, namely, a legacy of bitterness which will last for a very long time.

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