John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

Like other speakers, I have a huge difficulty with bonuses being paid. The budget has imposed cuts in three main areas because the bulk of public spending is in these areas. These areas include, health, social protection and education, all of which are essential for people. The reason for this is not the finances of the State because they are in a robust state, but the banks. Not alone are the banks costing the State so much that we have to cut back on essential services in health, social protection and education, to add insult to injury they are insisting on payment of bonuses, which is terribly wrong.