Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know that, but it is very hard to say do it through eliminating waste. One offends nobody by saying that and, of course, we want to drill down and eliminate waste. However, that is like saying I am going to go further than you, but I am not going to touch your wages and numbers. It is not achievable in the timeframe we have, but I welcome any suggestion the Deputy has to make and we will consider it carefully.

Deputy Catherine Murphy mentioned the pressure on families. We try to look at the cumulative impact of measures in order that we do not impact on families. That is how we approached the Croke Park agreement because it would have an excessive impact on the complexity of the public service. I have taken careful note of what the Deputy said about housing. I have long discussions with the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, who shares the Deputy's views on that issue. I hope to see that sort of change migrating through in policy in the coming months and years.

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