Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

It is not good enough that the Minister should send "Dear John" letters to the semi-State bodies. As the Taoiseach knows, deep suffering is being caused by the awful bailout deal the Government has bought into for every cent. He has yet to secure a cut in interest rates while the Minister for Finance is reduced to imploring people to go shopping. I do not know if he understands how offensive that is to those who do not have any money.

We are looking for a commitment that the Government will bring forward legislation to stop the bonus culture. I said to the Taoiseach before that this could be done very quickly. The Labour Party Members should bow their heads in shame when it affects the small people in this State. The Taoiseach cannot give us a clear indication of the number of bonuses that have been paid out by these semi-State companies. Does he intend to bring forward legislation to stop that?

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