Derek McDowell (Labour)

I endorse what others said. Those of us trying to make this argument are in some difficulty. The case is incontrovertible that there are special circumstances affecting teachers and politicians. These circumstances were identified through experience over the years and were dealt with by negotiation with the trade union movement, particularly in respect of teachers. Former members of the teaching profession in this House have spelt out their own experiences and have stated there are teachers who would like to retire or who should not be teaching any more. This is why the facility was introduced.

Our difficulty is that the Minister has decided that one size fits all without engaging with or trying to defeat this argument. The particular arguments that relate to teachers and politicians are not being contradicted in any way or dealt with — we are simply being told that the Minister has made a decision in principle that there is to be a general rule and that he will not engage with the exceptions. Perhaps I am misreading the matter and perhaps the Minister does intend to deal with the exceptions Senators have alluded to today. It seems wrong to ignore the experience which brought about the special arrangements in the first place and all the more wrong to do so without giving any justification. This, I suspect, is what the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, is doing.