Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Lithuania had really reached a low — it was much worse than Ireland — when the IMF was called in but it has come back up very quickly. It implemented tough measures such as a straight-off reduction of top public sector salaries by more than 20%. That along with other cuts has seen Lithuania become one of Europe's success stories. It is now one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, with an annualised growth rate of 6.6%. When one compares that to ourselves, one realises how well they are doing, and that was during the first have of this year. We must take heed of this example of how targeted cuts can be of significant benefit.

I do not like to single out anyone in particular but certain chief executives of semi-State bodies are still on a basic salary of €400,000. That is not sustainable. Significant savings can be made which can then be put back into helping the most vulnerable in society. Perhaps we should also look at former Ministers and taoisigh who are in other employment. Should those who are working be entitled to pensions?

The Bill also allows for a reduction in the case of the chairman of An Bord Pleanála and the Ombudsman as those posts are connected to that of a senior judge. If it is linked to it, I can understand why that happens. The Minister states that it is up to future Ministers to decide, and yet this Bill refers to current judges. Why are there different standards? Does the Minister intend to implement this and reduce their pay in the near future? The reason I ask is that the longer we wait for a decision, the more money we are losing. We should try to run the Government as a business and get down to reducing costs as the legislation allows us.