Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----in that I do have experience of trade union work. From that experience I learned that the first thing any member of a trade union wants is his or her job. It cannot have escaped the Deputy's attention that this Government is engaged in protecting employment. In this instance, it is seeking to protect employment within the public service. The second thing one must have before one comes to address the issue of pay is the means to actually pay people. This country was on the edge of bankruptcy when the Government took office. Since we came to power we have been obliged to work to restore the country's finances in order that we will be in a position to pay the wages and salaries of those who work in the public service and to ensure that public services will be maintained. As the Deputy knows, the approach we have taken has been to negotiate with the trade unions. However, those unions rejected the offer that was put on the table in the first instance and that is why we entered into a second round of negotiations. I compliment Mr. Kieran Mulvey and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, on the work they did in negotiating settlements with each of the individual unions.

Pay reductions will be on a scaled basis. This means that the core pay of those on under €65,000 per annum will not be reduced. Pay above that amount will be reduced on a scaled basis. We are of the view that where pay reductions are necessary, they must be introduced on a graduated basis and those on the highest levels of pay must bear the greatest burden.

Legislating in respect of multinational corporations and the payment of tax must be done on an international basis. When I attended the ministerial meeting of the OECD yesterday, I signed our commitment to the international effort being made to deal with the issue of tax avoidance - either by individuals or companies - on an international scale. We support the efforts in which the OECD is engaging in order to deal with this problem. In the course of our current Presidency of the European Union, we have managed to secure agreement on a regulation to place a cap on the remuneration of bankers on an EU-wide basis.

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