Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

With regard to the independence of the Judiciary being impacted somehow by this measure, that is a load of nonsense which does not stand up to any test. The idea that asking judges to take a pay cut like everybody else would jeopardise their independence is simply laughable.

In ways, it is an insult that we are discussing this matter at all. I believe this is an attempt by the Government to dress itself up as some type of magnificent reformer when it could easily have dealt with the matter through legislation. The Minister can shake his head but there is nothing that could have stopped the Oireachtas passing legislation to provide for members of the Judiciary to take a pay cut like all the other public servants in this State. That the Minister did not bring forward such legislation exposes the fact that this is simply a smokescreen. In addition, the fact that some members of the Judiciary have been doing so much huffing and puffing about this matter is an indictment of those members. It does not give one confidence in their judgment that they can be so removed from the lives of ordinary people at present.

If the Minister was serious about this issue, he would have introduced a Bill and let the members of the Judiciary challenge it. Would they have had the neck, against a backdrop of people on social welfare and elderly people having their household budgets cut, to challenge such a measure? They would not, particularly when the wages of the lowest paid are being slashed under joint labour committees, JLCs. Nobody will be crying over judges' pay aside from the handful of judges involved, presumably. This legislation is a side show; it is creating an illusion that the Government is attempting to tackle the wealthy and vested interests at the top of society when, in reality, it is doing the opposite.

If the Government was serious about tackling the wealthy, we would not be discussing this measure. It would have already been implemented and we would, perhaps, be discussing the introduction of a wealth tax for the top 300 individuals who saw their personal wealth increase by almost €7 billion in the past year. We could be discussing a 10% tax on that wealth, which would generate almost twice the amount that will be generated by the cutbacks and tax hikes the Government will impose on ordinary people under the forthcoming budget. If the Government was serious about tackling the wealthy, it would unleash a team of inspectors to assist with the Anglo Irish Bank inquiry, not a team of inspectors to hound people on social welfare. It would try to deal with a situation where the taxpayer is shouldering a €36 billion private debt as a result of the recapitalisation of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, write-down for 180 individuals and the nauseating situation whereby one of those individuals could host a society wedding for his daughter last weekend, while other parents of sons and daughters with special needs have had to spend the afternoon protesting outside the Dáil for justice for their children.

The record of this Government is not one of tackling the wealthy but of hounding ordinary people. This measure today will be seen for what it is.

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