David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will not take lectures from the Minister about hollow rhetoric, that is for sure. I do not promise people everything. If the Minister had bothered to read the submission document I sent to him in respect of our proposals on public sector pay, he would see that we said it was not possible to unwind all of the FEMPI cuts in one go or in one round of pay talks or one pay agreement. Instead, we had to prioritise. We set out our priorities. We did not promise people everything.

Fine Gael, of course, promised to abolish the universal social charge, a promise it dumped in recent times, if the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadker, is anything to go by. It also promised universal health insurance, a promise it has dumped. Given all of the big promises made by the Government, perhaps it should examine them before it attacks any other party.

With respect, I do not promise people all that they want and tell them they can have whatever they want. I believe in fairness and equality. We should, of course, cut our cloth according to our measure. The Government gave significant pay restoration to those earning above €65,000 and gave €1,000 to those earning below €65,000. That was a political choice that the Minister and Government, and not my party, made.

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