Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The discussion relating to this issue seems to focus on pay and on how much it costs to pay people. It has been stated that civil servants in Ireland are paid more than their counterparts in other countries. However, one does not hear the other side of the argument. In the same way that there are two sides to a balance sheet, there are two sides to this debate. The aspect of this matter which is not being discussed relates to what the Government has done to reduce the cost of living. It is not the case that civil or public servants want to be millionaires, to take two, three, four or five holidays per year or to drive around in really big and expensive cars. All they really want is a decent quality of life. At a meeting members of the Technical Group had with representatives from the troika, a discussion took place about a particular newspaper headline in which it was stated that someone in this country earning €65,000 could not afford to survive. The lads and lassies from the troika found this extraordinary and the guy from the IMF said that some of its top economists only earn €65,000 per year and can survive on that amount. They could survive on that amount not in Ireland but elsewhere. The reason for this is that it does not cost a fortune to live in many other countries where, we are told, civil and public servants are paid less.

One of the reasons people cannot afford to live here is because the Government has done nothing about people's debt. There has been no real debt write-down. The only way one can get such a write-down is if the bank is willing to give it to one under the Government's Personal Insolvency Act. Of course, if one is involved with Independent News and Media, however, one will receive a write-down. One particular owner of that institution received a €10 million write-down from a bank that is 99.9% Irish-owned. If the Government arranged write-downs for ordinary people, perhaps they would then be in a position to survive on less. However, it has not taken any action in this regard. Neither has it done anything about the cartelisation of Irish business. Fine Gael stated that it was going to do something about our absolutely useless Competition Authority and that it would ensure the latter would be properly resourced. It has not been properly resourced and there are still only two gardaí assigned to investigate problems with cartels throughout the country. It is because of this that people are obliged to pay high prices in shops and that local authorities must pay more for raw materials such as concrete for building roads or whatever. As a result, the cost of living in this country is massively high.

There is no proper accountability among local authorities, so rates are high. Money is being wasted left, right and centre and businesses are then obliged to pass on the cost involved to consumers. The Government stated that it would do something in respect of upward-only rents. However, action has not been taken. This is despite the fact that Deputy McNamara of the Labour Party has stated that, in legal terms, something could be done. Those in government would want to make up their minds because their lack of action is ensuring that prices are being kept high.

As such, one needs a small fortune to survive in this country. The Government has put the cart before the horse. It has had two and a half years to bring prices down but has not done so. Now, it expects to get blood out of a stone. This will not work.

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