Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This motion, which many have derided, has drawn very energetic responses from many Labour and Fine Gael backbenchers. The motion highlights that ordinary people have had enough, which I am sure Government backbenchers are made aware of every day of the week. Some 10% of families in this country cannot put a decent meal on the table.

Soup kitchens are opening in Galway and Athlone and there is demand for more of this type of service. People see these bankers and politicians receiving exorbitant pensions and they are very angry and want to see change. The Government is feeling this pressure also, which is why the motion is good as it will get a debate going in the Chamber. It is an insult to the people of the country that Eugene Sheehy voluntarily cut his pension by 20%. It means nothing. He will still come out with €250,000 a year. It is equivalent to 20 years' worth of the State pension of approximately €12,000 a year. He should return everything he got and ask the Irish people for forgiveness. He should be in receipt of the State old age pension only.

Two other architects of this disaster, former taoisigh Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, have pensions 12 times the amount of the State old age pension. Why do they consider they are worth €3,000 a week while other pensioners try to live on €230 a week? A total of 30 former Ministers are in receipt of more than €100,000. Most of them are under 65 years of age and most are in other well-paid jobs. The Government should end the excuses it makes day in and day out in the Dáil. The maximum pay in any new public sector contract should be €100,000 with pensions at €50,000. The Government has an opportunity to come to the Dáil to ask Deputies to take a reduction in their wages. I would vote for such a measure. One can vote to change one's conditions although it cannot be imposed on one, and people in the Chamber know this damn well.

If we were serious about leading by example, we would put forward proposals to reduce wages across the board. Pensions should be capped at €50,000 to €60,000, and even this is very generous. An income of €100,000 is three times the average wage and is more than enough for people to live on. Deputies and Ministers should take less. A pension of €50,000 is four times the amount of the State pension and society should debate whether it would be adequate. It is very generous.

The contractual problem that keeps being raised can be dealt with through taxation. We know this can be done. It was done to ordinary workers through the universal social charge and the pension levy. It can also be done to these existing contracts. A tax, levy or supertax on the super wages and super pensions can be introduced very quickly. It would not require going to court or to have thousands of people on the streets. The Government's reluctance can be compared to the cuts of €45 million in pension entitlements in the budget for 2012. From September, new claimants dependent on yearly PRSI payments could experience a cut of €30 a week, which is a very significant cut to a pension of €230 a week. We know many of those affected are women.

The IMF suggests pensioners are too well off and we heard the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, saying this also. It is said they have not been hit by austerity. They have experienced cuts in home help. An elderly woman told me her uncle who is 90 depends on three hours of home help but this has been cut by another hour. This morning, the Taoiseach said all of the problems should be sent to him. If this happened, he would be inundated and his e-mail would not be able to deal with the number of representations that would be made. Old-age pensioners have also experienced cuts to the fuel allowance and home care packages. Suggestions are now being made about cuts to travel, electricity and telephone allowances and increases in taxes. I signed the motion because I agree with the thrust of it. It should be debated in the Dáil, and the other side of the House should have a genuine approach to dealing with the issue.

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