Lenihan hits out at strike plan by public-sector staff
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has accused public-sector workers of wanting to tax everyone else to secure higher salaries for themselves.
Mr Lenihan was responding to yesterday's decision by public-sector unions to ballot their members on plans for a one-day strike next month.
They say the stoppage will go ahead if the Government persists with its intention to impose a further €1.3bn cut in public-sector pay in this December's budget.
Unions are currently in talks with Government officials to see if the savings can be made through reform rather than reductions in core pay rates.
Speaking this morning, Mr Lenihan claimed the burden of tax in Ireland was already too high to be increasing tax rates any further.
He said raising a further €1bn in income taxes would require a new tax rate of 63% for people earning more than €100,000.
