Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

That is true too. I refer to the bonus scheme in place. I have tried very hard to find out more about this area in recent years. A former Deputy, Mr. Paul McGrath, and I tabled freedom of information requests and we went to the Ombudsman to see how these civil servants were paying themselves and to find out what criteria were used in respect of the payment of the bonus. It was amazing. A little fund was in place. They divvied it up among themselves and everyone got equal pay every year, but at the same time the economy was going down. The services they were running were being put out of order and they were not doing the jobs for which they were getting paid, never mind the allocation of bonuses.

I was disappointed that the former Ombudsman, Mr. Murphy, and the current Ombudsman did not reverse that decision. It is only right because public money was at stake. We should know why county managers, directors of services, county engineers and principal civil servants were getting these bonuses, what service they did for the State, what money they saved the State and on what basis they were getting the payments, but we could never find out. Is that not amazing?

Journalists can come to the House and use freedom of information legislation to get information from the Minister of State or any and every Deputy in the House, and rightly so. They can use the freedom of information legislation to get information on everyone covered by the Freedom of Information Act, but not the 655 senior civil servants. They were saved. There was no freedom of information for them and their information was deemed private. They received their little fund and divvied it up among themselves.

There is great anger among low paid workers who wonder why they must take the cuts. People are suffering, including middle class people and people on low incomes. Third level fees must be paid, there is no medical card relief and such people have mortgages to pay. These people are struggling and I fully understand the frustration of those in the public service and why they are angry and upset. Such people do not mind supporting or helping the State or playing their part.

Has this Government not learned? Did we not see this with the builders and bankers? They were able to get their way with the Government. We have not seen a banker go to jail yet. However, there are poor people who collect the bins or who work for the council on a wage of €450 or €500 per week and who must pay this levy, while senior executives do not have to pay it. This is wrong and I hope Deputy Mattie McGrath and the Fianna Fáil backbenchers who sought a debate on this matter vote with us tomorrow night.

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