Ivana Bacik (Independent)

There is no comparison between the imposition of a 10% levy and the loss of one's job. The tragedy of job losses for people in Waterford Wedgwood, Dell, SR Technics and smaller firms around the country, which are bearing the brunt in the private sector, must be acknowledged. However, people must feel they are fairly being asked to play their part. Public sector workers, in particular, are willing to play their part. The Swedish recovery model has been adopted by ICTU and it has been presented as a plan for an economic recovery. When the architect of the plan visited Ireland, he said there was a need to ensure the burden of spending cuts and revenue raising measures is felt equally and the pain is felt by all interest groups. There is a difficulty when a number of such groups feel they have been unfairly targeted. We must ensure equity in this measure and that it is seen as part of a much wider plan for recovery, in which everyone will play a part.

A significant step in this would be to make clear to the public and, in particular, public sector workers that this will only be a temporary measure. Providing that this would be done for only two years should be an integral part of presenting a coherent package of revenue raising and cost cutting measures to the public. I am not sure why the Government is opposing the sensible suggestion to impose a deadline by which the Bill would have to be reviewed and the measure amended. I do not see the problem for the Minister in doing this. We are all trying to work together in a spirit of solidarity, understanding the enormous problems facing us at this time. I do not disagree with the measure in principle, but we must ensure it is imposed equitably and fairly, as part of an overall package that is coherent and appears to be part of an economic recovery, and a sunset clause is vital to that.