Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----but that is good. I reiterate that 60,500 hired since 2011 are still serving in new-entrant grades. Included are 16,000 teachers and 5,000 SNAs.

I want to touch on some of the matters raised. Deputy Cullinane said it was wrong to do what was done but it was agreed by the unions. People seem to choose to ignore that. At the peak of the crisis, the Deputy's then leader wanted us to default on what we had borrowed to service the State. Had we defaulted, we would have had much more difficult issues to deal with and much deeper cuts to make.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh referred to necessary steps. I disagree with what he said. It is pretty good to start on €36,000. A graduate in the public sector starts off at €28,000. The average in the State is €30,000. A teacher starts on €36,000.

3 o’clock

I disagree with just about everything Deputy Bríd Smith said about this issue.

In terms of the information on the workers in section 39 bodies raised by Deputy Burton, that is being processed via the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive.

I want to touch upon the matter about income tax. In 2011, when we were at the bottom of the trough, so to speak, the State collected €11 billion in income tax. The amount that will be collected for 2018 is calculated at €21.5 billion. We are doubling the tax take. People can believe that is a terrible thing but I believe it is a good thing. I also believe that the people paying a lot of tax should be given an opportunity to have some of that alleviated. We are an unusual jurisdiction in that people in this State who are earning the average industrial wage are being caught in the higher tax net. That does not happen anywhere else. We are very clear that we want to try to give people the opportunity to earn more money, pay less tax and take home more money.

Deputy Broughan can criticise the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, all he likes but the Minister of State, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party, the Labour Party and some Independents chose to participate in government rather than sit on the sidelines. It is very easy to hurl from the top of the ditch when one is on that side of the House.

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