Charlie McCreevy (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I bow to the expertise of the Senator's colleagues regarding the actual negotiations. To my knowledge they did not break on this point. Taxation did not, on this occasion, form a central part of the negotiations. The trade union leadership recognised, before we reached the table, that the days of big tax reductions were gone and that taxation would not form a central part of this agreement, as it did in other agreements. The Government, in other agreements, gave tax concessions which bolstered up the employer side. Everybody recognised that was not possible in this agreement.