Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the Minister does a difficult job and I wish him well in it. I do not want to knock public servants, particularly those on lower pay grades. I do not want to take money from the pockets of gardaí, nurses or other front line workers. However, the Minister or his Department fostered the expectation that €75 million could be saved and the public were left with the impression that a lot of fat could be trimmed. I am disappointed that somebody gave him those figures - I do not think he came up with them himself - when the actual amount was a paltry €3 million. Would it not have been better to impose a percentage cut across the board? We will have to improve our ability to make projections because the performance in this instance was very poor.

See this speech in context