Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

When one goes to Croke Park, one supports Tipperary. No distinction is made.

This could cost larger wholesalers such as Gleeson's and Britvic, which has more than 800 employees, in excess of €1 million. That will have an effect on jobs. Will the Minister of State indicate what will be done in response to this issue? A significant number of jobs are at risk. It is somewhat similar to what happened with benchmarking. Those people have stocked up to the brim for Christmas. They have been working in difficult conditions in recent years given the exchange rate with sterling and the Border factor in terms of VAT. They have been trying to hang on to their customers as best they can. By reducing excise duty right before Christmas the Government has left them with significant bills. When that happened in 1994 the Government of took decisive action. Some of the goods were sent back to bonded warehouses and the people involved were probably refunded. If something of that nature is not done, major job losses will ensue. There are smaller wholesalers in every county and jobs will be affected.

I raised the issue of consultancy fees paid to banks previously with the senior Minister and with the Minister of State. Anglo Irish Bank is fully nationalised. By the end of next year AIB and Bank of Ireland could be up to 70% State-owned. Irish Nationwide Building Society will either be taken into State ownership or the Government will ask that it be amalgamated. Consultants are working in all those financial institutions currently assessing loans being transferred to NAMA and the transactions involving the amalgamation of Irish Nationwide Building Society with the EBS or whatever other banking institution. I have been led to believe that a senior consultant is being paid €3,500 per day while a junior consultant is being paid €750 per day. Is that the case? If it is, it is a great shame given that the Government is taking €8.50 from the blind pension while at the same time paying €3,500 per day to a senior consultant working in the banks, some of which are worth nothing. The Irish Nationwide Building Society is worth nothing and it owes billions of euro. Anglo Irish Bank is in State ownership and the other banks could be 70% to 80% owned by the State early next year. I would like an answer to this question.

The situation of the 3,000 or 4,000 people working in the drinks industry, who are working in very difficult conditions, needs to be looked at. We need answers in that regard.