Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Deputy seems to suggest that these people are all on excessive salaries. The total of their annual salaries is €289,151. That is a gross figure, which is about €450 net on average per week.

I note the Deputy's comment about the report by the Irish League of Credit Unions, which is by no means to be discounted. We all know many families who are seriously challenged in these times. We are not the only ones in Europe who are now so affected. The Government is well aware of this, however, which is why we reversed the minimum wage in the memorandum of understanding. That is why we brought thousands of families out of the universal social charge requirement. We did not increase income tax or taxes on employment in order to give the best opportunity to business and employment creation. We downsized the scale of the banks and required the two pillar banks to lend €3.5 billion of new loans this year so that these opportunities can be implemented.

The Deputy asked me the number of civil servants employed in my office and I have answered him. I note that some people seem to think that one should not have a constituency office for the benefit of constituents at all. Whether one makes no representations or many, these matters become the focus of public attention. If somebody stops Deputy Adams on the street and says, "I live here in Dundalk, I've applied for the disability benefit and I'm on appeal for the last three months", is he supposed to say, "Sorry, I can't deal with your query here. That's a constituency matter"? My constituency office, which I rarely attend due to the business of Government, constantly deals with queries from people all over Ireland but mostly from the western region. They are normal constituency queries that come in about everything one could think of. These staff work exceptionally hard and give an enormous commitment to dealing with people's problems. As I said, their average net income is €450 per week.

I am not discounting in any way the impact or relevance of the report conducted by the Irish League of Credit Unions. The Government is well aware of that. The budget for 2013, which will obviously be challenging, will be framed in a way that is seen to be fair, equitable and affordable. The drive has to be not to penalise employment and work, but to provide opportunities whereby businesses can flourish and jobs are created.

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