Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

We should remember that the former Minister, Deputy O'Dea, slandered another public representative before denying in a sworn affidavit that he had done so. He was found out because he was caught on tape engaging in the slander he had denied. We should also remember the pathetic response of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, when he pretended he believed the Minister for Defence. Only one and a half days after the former made his speech, the latter had left office.

The Fianna Fáil Party has not made a single confession about what has taken place over the past 15 years. The Taoiseach has expressed regret in the same way I might express regret that the cloud of lava ash is continuing to play havoc with the lives of air travellers. As I am not responsible for the lava ash, my expression of regret would come under the heading "general sympathy." The plain people of Ireland need much more than general sympathy from the Taoiseach. When good people are put to the pin of their collar to meet mortgage payments on a house worth two thirds of what it costs them, a confession and an apology from the Government would be a start but a firm purpose of amendment is what is really needed.

The Taoiseach should long ago have hauled together all former Ministers and told them that their moral responsibility, having impoverished the diligent citizens of this nation, is not to grind the faces of citizens in the excessive wealth arising from their position. There was not a chance that this would be done as to do so would require leadership, a quality the Taoiseach has never displayed.

We should also remember the Boston versus Berlin argument of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, who chose to develop a two tier health system. The Taoiseach now stands idly by while a two tier society develops, an "us and them" economy in which the "them", the new poor, have an opportunity to bail out the banks. Are they not lucky? The people in question are the hard working middle classes who did things right. The vast majority of them did not borrow excessively to have a four-wheel drive sports utility vehicle outside the door, nor did they spend €10,000 or €15,000 on trips around the world before adding the cost to a 30 year mortgage. They did not take mortgages of many multiples of their salary but did things properly.

The "us", on the other hand, are the former Ministers who pocket their pensions and go home with smiles on their faces. In refusing to surrender their pensions they are engaging in an exercise in irresponsibility and contempt. Not only are their actions immoral but they are amoral. They just do not get it; they fail to understand the outrage and annoyance of members of the public because they are entirely disconnected.

What happened in Athens yesterday, when three people, including a pregnant woman died in riots, was a horror which must be condemned by every European. However, yesterday's events reflect the desperation of the new poor. Ireland, too, has a new poor. The difficulty they face is not the amount they earn but the financial commitments they have entered into. According to a paper produced by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, personal debt here has reached €147 billion. Between 1995 and 2008 - effectively the Bertie Ahern era - household debt increased by 267%. For those who argue this is not excessive given the 13 year period involved, household debt in France and Britain increased by 9% and 63%, respectively, in the same period.

When I spoke to the Minister for Finance last week on the indebtedness of Ireland and its citizens, he told me about a code of conduct and an oversight committee consisting of representatives of the Irish Banking Federation. I told him he was out of touch because the membership of the committee was akin to putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Meanwhile, we have the new poor, the "us and them" society and a Taoiseach who would prefer not to force his pals to do what is right. This type of apathy is unacceptable, inappropriate and disgraceful.

I propose to discuss the Pensions (Abatement) Act 1965. I want to quote from the Citizens Information Board:

Most public sector pension schemes are subject to what is called abatement if you return to work in the public sector. The precise conditions may vary from one scheme to another but, in general, abatement means that the pension is reduced in order to ensure that you do not earn more between the pension and the income from employment than you would if you had remained in employment.

There is legislation for us and them, "us" being the politicians here in this House and "them" public sector employees. There are no circumstances in which this should be allowed happen. Many retired teachers have claimed their gratuity to which they are entitled and which I support, but if a retired teacher claims a gratuity and then goes back into work, then that is all right if nobody is available to take that place. However, as we know, there are now thousands of unemployed young teachers coming out of college who are claiming social welfare payments from the State.

Our former colleague Ivan Yates is claiming his pension, which he is fully entitled to do. He is also claiming funds from his work in the private sector, which he is entitled to do. However, our former colleague Alan Dukes is now working for Anglo Irish Bank, which is wholly owned by the State. He is not really a public sector employee, even though all the funds are coming from the State. I believe the Pensions (Abatement) Act should apply completely to everybody. It should not apply to just some of the people, but all of the people.

Maybe the Taoiseach could get some advice from road safety experts. They would tell him that he can encourage, inform and advertise until he is blue in the face, but what actually saves lives is enforcement, such as doing random breath-testing by the Garda. It is the same with Fianna Fáil. When the proper action to take is obvious, they do not take it. They reflect on taking it or, in Deputy McDaid's case, they develop bizarre rationales for not taking it.

Enforcement is the way to go. Enforcement will ensure an end to this two-tier society where any punishment can be dealt out to the citizen, but the same punishment is not dealt to politicians.

I have used the word "bizarre" quite deliberately. It belongs with other words like grotesque, unprecedented and unbelievable; words that came from another era. That is where the current Taoiseach has brought this nation. He has brought us in a circle right back to the GUBU years of Fianna Fáil.

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