Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

The "Prime Time" programme, which was very good, focused on the cost of the public finances. One of the contributors made clear that lower paid workers in the Civil Service and public service have comparable pay with similar grades in other European countries. However, he made clear that higher paid civil and public servants, including us as public representatives, received disproportionately higher pay than comparable workers in European countries. Even though the Minister may argue that the lower paid are paying less income tax, in reality it is the higher paid who benefit most when compared to other European countries. That issue must be seriously considered by the Government when it introduces any form of increased taxation or imposes levies in the manner envisaged across the board on civil and public servants. Even though the Minister stated he expects the higher paid to pay more, he may not be doing it in the correct way in the light of the comparison with other European countries. I urge the Minister to address that issue. I accept it may not be possible to address it straight away because of the complexity of the issue. However, it should be taken into account. Perhaps unfairness is built into the pay rates of the civil and public service but that may be compounded by the income tax being raised on civil and public servants.