Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is probably a bad example. Let us take teachers or nurses in those situations. That will be particularly difficult.

The Minister does not have an easy job; I do not have to tell him that, because he is working in it every day. There are elements of this that I do not support. Applying pay reductions to those on more than €65,000 is, on balance, fair, but we must remember the pensions element in this. I do not believe pensioners were well represented in these talks. The Minister is looking to reduce the pensions of those who are receiving more than €32,500. Many of these people are retired nurses, teachers and gardaí - people who have given a lifetime's service to the State. Most of them do not have the ability to earn additional income. That is always a difficulty when one is cutting pensions. I am not talking about the pensions of former politicians or Secretaries General but about middle-ranking people who have retired, who could be in their 70s or 80s and who have no ability to earn additional income but who face additional costs, including the property tax. I do not believe that group of people were well represented in these negotiations. The Minister might be able to enlighten me on that and perhaps he has a view on how that could be dealt with. The last people we should be going near are those who have served the State for a substantial period and who have retired. I will be interested to hear the Minister's views on that.