Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

People on the other side of the House spoke about fast and furious action being needed and grasping the nettle. I could not agree more with them. This is what is needed. However, what we have seen here, in particular during recent months, is Government by report. It is waiting for the Commission on Taxation and for everything without making a proper decision.

When it did make a decision it was on a levy which is unjust and unfair. I am getting weary of people on the other side of the House lecturing the Opposition on responsibility when they should be offering an apology to the people for the reckless policies which they adopted and which brought the country to its knees where it is at the present time.

Section 1 of the Bill states the President, the Judiciary, military judges and the CEOs of semi-State bodies, who are on greater wages than the Taoiseach, are excluded from the levy. If one wants just and fair policies one must start at the top and not at the bottom which is what we see with regard to this levy. There is no overall plan from the Government. We hear of more taxes coming and of the possibility of the introduction of third-level fees. We have drip feed all the time instead of the Government coming out and telling us what is the position and what is the plan for the coming years. This is what the people want.

My nominating body is the ICPSA which includes the Army and the Garda Síochána. Today, I met with them and they are very unhappy. They believe it is an unfair levy and that it is unjust. I will not repeat what Senator McCarthy stated but he mentioned some of the anomalies they raised. They have members who are up in arms with regard to commitments given for mortgages based on salaries.

We heard there will be tweaking of the system for the lower paid in the public service. Where is the tweaking? We did not receive it in the Dáil. Will we have it here on Committee Stage? I doubt it. We are misleading the people and those working in the public service by mentioning tweaking. This is typical of Government action over recent years. It drip feeds everything instead of coming out and giving the people hope for the future by producing a plan which people will be able to accept and not introducing a policy such as this which is so unfair.