Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

By way of constructive criticism, I have a question for the Leader. The Taoiseach made the announcement on Tuesday of his grand plan to secure a reduction in Exchequer expenditure. Of the €2 billion in savings to be made this year, €1.4 billion is to come from the public sector pension levy. In The Irish Times today, Dominic Coyle writes that, after tax relief, the saving will be €900 million rather than €1.4 billion. Given that the changes will not be introduced until March, the saving for 2009 will be only €750 million. I do not point to this figure in order to suggest it should be higher or lower. However, it raises the question of whether the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and officials in the Department of Finance can count. The €1.4 billion was supposed to be the definite figure in this patchwork proposal for €2 billion in savings. Now, however, it is not at all clear that even that particular target will be achieved. Will the Leader clarify this?