David Norris (Independent)

I do not think so but Senator Mansergh obviously does and can be satisfied with that.

The situation of what is termed "pick-me-up" schemes is interesting. This involves party supporters outside the political arena who pick up expenses legitimately owed by the political parties. It is illegal but there have been 71 cases of this practice. That comes very close to home in this House.

Fintan O'Toole, in an excellent article in The Irish Times, referred to a series of frauds in the construction industry which is close to some of the political parties here. He wrote "The brazenness can be breathtaking." Indeed it can. Four building sub-contractors were involved in claiming tax relief funds for jobs that were never undertaken. They never paid the tax, the jobs did not exist but they received the tax relief funds. In his article Fintan O'Toole states:

[They] faked tax refund claim forms pleaded guilty to deception and theft during 2003. They submitted forms to the Revenue claiming refunds on the 35% which main contractors must automatically deduct from payments to subcontractors. But the jobs they were claiming for did not exist and when the offenders received the refund cheques, they simply passed them on to the builders who organised the fraud, keeping a small cut for themselves.

I understand this is called "trousering the proceeds".

If one looks around there is no doubt that the Labour Party is right in what it says in this sense: the small people are crushed, the big crooks get away with it. That is part of our ethos. I am not inclined to blame Fianna Fáil or the coalition Government for this. However, Senator Mansergh with his eloquent interruptions has persuaded me that it would be wrong for me tonight to vote with the Government. In tribute to his wisdom, I shall be happy to vote for the Labour Party motion.