Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Finance to the House and to agree with me in respect of what I have to say. The reality is that the Minister was dragged in, kicking and screaming, to prevent the payment of the bonuses yesterday. It is extraordinary that it took the Minister for Finance five days to agree with everyone in this House that the bonuses should not have been paid. It took two days to cut social welfare payments by putting the Social Welfare Bill through the Dáil. The events of the past week have underlined that the Government does not value people, given the cuts made in the budget, the level of care provided for the elderly and the lack of respect shown for taxpayers through the payment of bonuses by the banks. When will it end? When will those in government get the message?