Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I thank the Minister and his departmental officials for their work on this Bill and on the jobs initiative. In response to the points raised by Deputy Ross, the Minister remarked that opposition within the pensions industry has evaporated with a click of his fingers. However, many ordinary citizens on modest defined benefit pensions are still incredibly apprehensive about this proposal. There is a profound interest in the revival of the economy and in efforts to stimulate job creation, but there is grave concern among people who have worked for 30 or 40 years and who will find in the next two or three years that their resources will be further reduced as they face into a winter where energy prices will almost certainly rise in conjunction with the general and ongoing upward escalation of the cost of living which is evident despite the flatlining of the economy.

Amendment No. 37 in the name of Deputy Seamus Healy corresponds closely with my own views on this aspect of the Bill in its proposal that the levy should be directed primarily or even entirely at the industry itself rather than the beneficiaries. The Bill incorporates a sunset clause of sorts in that this provision is designed to operate only until 2014. Is there merit in looking at the jobs initiative in terms of very precise cost benefit targets year on year? In that context, is it possible to look at the annual returns from the levy on a year by year basis in order to see what is being achieved? For example, I am still not clear as to how we will measure how well airlines, restaurants and hostelries have delivered in response to the reduction in VAT rates and the travel tax. The Minister may recall that I was the first Deputy in the House to oppose that tax. How will we measure that precisely on a quarterly or annual basis? Would there be merit in including a type of sunset clause whereby information would be presented to the Dáil this time next year showing how the levy has panned out in terms of the creation of jobs and the amount of additional taxation it has brought to the economy? It would also be an opportunity to review the pain the levy will undoubtedly inflict on workers, retired workers and workers about to retire who have given great service to this economy in very demanding jobs, in many cases for 30 or 40 years.

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