Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

That was wrong. I hope the measures and reductions envisaged are targeted to ensure we will protect those genuinely dependent on social welfare and encourage those who have opted to remain on it for lifestyle dependency reasons to return to the workforce to the extent that employment is available. I am not saying it is endemic among all those who are unemployed, but there is some scope for change.

While we are to maintain capital expenditure at levels among the highest in Europe as a percentage of GDP, it is regrettable that the reductions are necessary. The Construction Industry Federation has commented that they will have an undue impact on that sector. The plan indicates that €500 million from the National Pensions Reserve Fund will be committed to such areas as public private partnerships and State capital projects. Perhaps more of the fund should be made available for that purpose. While various Departments, including the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, have announced and are implementing schemes aimed at work activation and promoting enterprise through the enterprise fund, as I have said previously, I would like to see approximately €4 billion from the National Pensions Reserve Fund invested directly in the SME sector, not by way of grant aid but by means of the State taking an equity stake in the sector. That would provide a much needed stimulus and represent a good investment over time for the people's money in the fund. SMEs could be given an opportunity within a time limit to buy back the equity stake when the success of the business permitted. I would like to see such a measure such introduced.

We are pleased that the 12.5% corporation tax rate is to be maintained. It is the cornerstone of our enterprise policy. I also welcome the broadening of the tax base. It is important that everyone make some contribution. There is no getting away from the pain the plan will cause, but we must return to the pre-1977 era when the word "entitlement" meant one was entitled to get out of bed in the morning and do a day's work and if one could not do so, the Government stepped in and tried to help. Equally, people should make a contribution in line with their means, albeit a small one in the case of those who have least or earn the least amount.

Bringing third level registration fees up to €2,000 will be difficult for some. Equally, the fact that 75% of the education budget of approximately €9 billion goes on pay should be tackled. The recent analysis by The Irish Times showed the monthly income of the highest paid individual in the Department of Education and Skills was €22,000. While I am sure they are well worth the generous salary for their expertise and what they bring to the party, I am sure they could survive on substantially less. This is a national emergency.

I appreciate we have the Croke Park agreement, but the delay in implementation of some of its recommendations is reprehensible. It contains some very good measures, but if it were a business plan, it would be decided today and implemented tomorrow morning. It is now nine months since it was agreed. There are many reasons for the failure to implement the plan but no excuses. While Senator O'Toole has been nodding in agreement heretofore, from now on he will disagree with what I have to say. As I said on the Order of Business both this morning and for many months, everyone above a certain threshold in the public sector, perhaps €60,000 or €70,000 or a little less, should take a percentage reduction in income. That threshold could be decided in partnership with the unions. I accept we will all pay more in taxes as a result of the new taxation measures, but those of us above a certain threshold are paid too much. There is scope not to renegotiate or tear up the Croke Park agreement but to adjust it to make it even better, fairer and more penetrative in what it can contribute to the reform of the structures of the nation which we are all agreed is badly needed, given the circumstances in which we find ourselves. While it is clear that it is not now the intention of the Government, I hope in the short time left before the budget that we will see there is scope and that those earning €22,000 a month could accept €18,000, while those earning €15,000 could accept €14,000 and so on. That would make for a much fairer country and those rates would be much more realistic. Ultimately, we may need to benchmark the entire workforce in the public service against the workforce in the public service in other countries because, inevitably, in the private sector, if circumstances change, the commercial realities quickly change payroll figures and pensions, whereas in the public sector benefits are defined and not subject to change or agile enough to be able to be adapted to changed circumstances. The agility, innovation and ability to change immediately which the private sector, of necessity, has to display need to be replicated in the public sector. While that is envisaged in some of the positive elements of the Croke Park agreement, unfortunately, our inability to introduce changes for almost an entire year underlines the fact that serious action needs to be taken to remedy the pedestrian nature of the system within which we operate.

Senator Twomey mentioned that the plan contains some waffle. Aspects of it lead one to wonder who wrote it. Measures are outlined on page 50 to assist the retail sector. The intention is to make roads better in order that delivery times can be improved. Later in the plan there is a reference to adding 1% to the VAT rate in 2013 and 2014 which will do nothing for my part of the country, the north west, where cross-Border shopping is a major issue. A little more thought is required on some aspects of the plan. It is clear, however, that it contains some good measures. The most important point is that we are to redefine our cost and income base, which needs to be done. Fianna Fáil has been the senior party in government for most of the past 30 or 40 years, but we can all share in the blame for the erosion of the income base and a redefining of the word "entitlement" to the point where it is unsustainable and not one over which we can stand.

On environmental issues, water will be the new oil before we are too much older. In that context, water metering is just. In implementing other measures it is important that those who can pay do pay.

I referred briefly to third level education fees, the increase in which will be painful for the student population. We should inject more money into education but, equally, we should not have free third level education for the children of persons earning €150,000 or €200,000 a year. Instead, those who can should pay to ensure the children of those who genuinely cannot afford to go to college - at a cost of approximately €9,000 a year in Dublin - can access a fund to ensure they are adequately looked after.

Like the Minister of State, I could probably speak for an hour or more on the issues involved. Perhaps in the coming fortnight during preparations for the budget we can add to our initial thoughts on the document.