Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I am thankful for the general welcome for the provision on bankers' bonuses. The Government also looked closely at the social charge. Deputies will appreciate that with the pressure of negotiations, arrangements were arrived at and when we evaluated those arrangements, it was clear there was an unintended benefit to the self-employed in the budgetary arrangements and there was a particular hardship for medical card holders. Having said that, the effect of the social charge provisions was to put them in the same position as another person on the same income despite the possession of a medical card. That said, the effect of the budgetary measures, and the impact on that category was such that it was an immediate and substantial impact and it required to be lessened. That is why the Government introduced these changes, not, as Deputy English correctly said, at the request of particular independent Deputies. There was considerable discussion of this within the Government and within Fianna Fáil about this issue. The Government finalised its arrangements on this, and advertised them, in advance of the decision.

There will be representations for further changes in the social charge, as there are proposed amendments for further changes here. They must be costed and it must be shown where the alternative source of revenue might be. No such information is before the House this morning in any of these proposals.

I thank all parties for their general welcome of the measures on bankers' bonuses. There is, however, a fundamental flaw in Deputy Doherty's argument and I am alarmed that it will get him another misleading propaganda piece for the Sinn Féin propaganda machine in this election. Let us be clear - there are no bonuses payable in the future in any of the guaranteed banks. It was suggested this afternoon by Deputy Doherty that senior executives could get a bonus of €20,000 out of this but that is not true because those bonuses are not permitted under arrangements I have already put in place. The arguments about Bank of Ireland and AIB related to retrospective issues in the past. In the future, however, no bonuses are payable and this tax is the same. It simply copper-fastens it. Sinn Féin is advocating that lowly paid workers in call centres should pay 90% on their marginal income.

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