Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

With regard to credit unions, a small handful of credit unions will be affected by the measure being introduced. When the regulator goes about the job, I do not want to see Deputies and Senators complaining about the regulator and arguing that a particular credit union had been doing a great job. We need to support and uphold the independent regulator and wish it well in its work. Too often we are tied down by local interests.

I refer to the jobs initiative and the moneys from the pension levy. The total cost of the measures in the jobs initiative is €379 million. Fianna Fáil had promised to allocate a total of €124 million out of the €379 million. Like the summer works scheme for schools, Fianna Fáil had already promised this work but the Government dressed it up as a jobs budget. The cost of the additional measures is €255 million.