Dan Boyle (Green Party)

Senator Norris has put on record his concerns with how this Bill is being portrayed as an attack on the poor. Undoubtedly, there are a series of unpalatable decisions in the whole cocktail of measures the budget for 2011 has involved and in the package from the EU and IMF. I believe there has been huge misrepresentation, however, about the degree to which this is unfair and does not constitute all sectors of society taking particular measures. I would prefer if there was more balancing in year one of what will be a four year package but there is undoubtedly no avoiding the fact that 40% of our expenditure could not have been left untouched as part of the series of first measures. I agree with Senator MacSharry that more sacred cows will have to be slain, in particular the levels of pay in the public sector. I cannot see this or any subsequent Government avoiding that in the coming years.

Senator Norris concentrated very much on the minimum wage. There are arguments for and against, and my colleague will tackle many of those arguments. In the brief time available to me, I wish to deal with the other measures in the Bill.