Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

I am glad Deputy Keating is advocating Sinn Féin policy. Perhaps he is considering changing his party once more. The Minister said changes will be made to future pensions, lump sums and bonuses. When he and the Minister, Deputy Burton, were on this side of the House, they argued in favour of a special charge on bankers' bonuses. Bankers are legally entitled to such bonuses, but they should not get them. Deputy Keating has placed such a proposal before us today. Sinn Féin has been advocating it. There is a legal mechanism whereby we can deal with this retrospectively. We are advocating the introduction of a charge such as the bankers' bonus charge, which is a 45% charge on incomes above a certain amount. I put it to the Minister that it is within his capability as Minister for Finance to introduce such a charge in the next budget. It could deal with anything that went before his term of office, including the pensions and bonuses to which certain people are legally entitled.

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