Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said to the Deputy, the bottom line is that the Government follows a plan which has made significant progress towards rectifying our public finances, restoring some sense of confidence in the Irish economy and bringing about a situation in which, thankfully, 1,000 jobs are being created in the private sector every month. The Government was disappointed with the outcome of the vote, which, on the basis of the negotiated proposals before the trade unions, ensured that those who earned the most paid the most and that the core pay of the 87% of public workers who earn less than €65,000 were not affected.

The Deputy's party has had views about the way in which this should be dealt with. I remind her of her proposal before the last election for €3 billion in tax increases, which would have been catastrophic for this country, deprived people of any opportunity to work and left marginal rates at an exceptionally high level.

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