Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Better yet, instead of doing 1%, why did we not just take a whole tranche of people - the lower paid - out of that altogether? Lower-paid people are struggling. We need the people who work in jobs in the catering industry or in various support roles in hospitals and places like that. Why did we not just take them out of the USC altogether instead of benefiting people who can well afford to pay an extra few bob for the time being while the USC is still around?

I am deeply concerned about the Apple tax. Let us put a couple of things into place. Does the Minister of State honestly believe we should let the people who have allowed the bicycle shed, security hut and hospital projects to go way out of kilter have access to that money? I would much rather that all the money be handed to the Minister of State and or some other politician to spend it rather than giving it to those who have absolutely behaved recklessly with the State’s funds. Some €2.2 billion has now been spent on a children’s hospital which was originally supposed to cost €400 million. I note that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, has announced the development of a framework for the investment of the €14 billion Apple money, prioritising housing, energy and water. This country depends massively on foreign direct investment, but we have zero lens on security and defence. We have cables coming through our seas that no one is able to monitor. We depend on the EU to monitor them. Our Defence Forces are falling apart. While it was great to see today that provision has been made for an increase of 400 members in the Defence Forces, who is going to instruct them? The Government has done a great job in increasing the pay for the lowest ranks in the Defence Forces, such as the enlisted ranks and the lowest ranks in the commissioned officers' ranks. It has not, however, maintained the differential. There is now very little, by way of money, in being promoted from private to corporal or from cadet to second lieutenant or full lieutenant. From that point of view, we should go back and look at that.

The 2013 pension reform, which was brought in by officials from the Department of public expenditure and reform, must be looked at. It was a one-fix-fits-all approach. It does not fit all. It is absolutely repugnant to those who are in the accelerated pension schemes. My colleague, Senator Maria Byrne, made reference to 1,000 new members of An Garda Síochána, and fair play to her for acknowledging that. The problem is that we have lost 1,000 members in the past year because of the 2013 pension reform. The Minister of State is a really active guy in his role. One of the things he can bring to the Cabinet, to the Taoiseach and to the Minister for public expenditure and reform, who is one of the better Ministers this country has had down through the years, is to get them to sit down to look at the damage that was done with the 2013 pension reform. It is absolutely detrimental to front-line services. We have got to do something about it.

The single pension scheme was brought in by people who walked out of here with great big pensions from the public service. They brought in a single pension scheme which has made public service something nobody really wants to engage in. Neither the Minister of State, Fine Gael nor Fianna Fáil wants to see that. We have to get an acknowledgement of this. I can only ask that it comes in election manifestos. As I understand it, this Government will be gone by 22 November. That is what I have heard today. That is a bit of news for everyone. I just thought I should fill everyone in on that