asked the Minister for Finance the amount of State revenue which will be absorbed by the payment of (a) wages and salaries, and (b) pensions, in the current year as a proportion of £1.

The proportions are (a) 41.6p and (b) 2.9p respectively.

5.

asked the Minister for Finance the amount of State revenue which will be absorbed in interest payments on State debt in the current year, as a proportion of £1.

The proportion is 21.9 pence in the £.

6.

asked the Minister for Finance the amount of State revenue which will be absorbed in the repayment of State debt in the current year as a proportion of £1.

No State revenue will be absorbed in the repayment of State debt in the current year, other than payments into sinking funds which are used towards the financing of the capital budget in the current year. If State debt repayments could be met out of revenue it would mean that not only had the Exchequer no borrowing requirement but that it was actually running a surplus.

I appreciate that this is too large a subject to thrash out in the context of the question, but would the Minister agree that, in view of the enormous proportion of revenue absorbed in interest payments and State borrowing which he has just confessed to of 21.9 per cent—over one-fifth of all the money collected by the State—a long-term approach to his tax distribution problems would be to aim at scaling down the national debt as fast as possible? Think what the Minister could do with that 21p in the £ if he was able to use it on tax relief.

Question No. 7.

I would agree that it limits considerably any Government's room to manoeuvre if an undue proportion of current revenue is taken up in payment of interest on national debt. For that reason the Government are reducing the borrowing requirement as a proportion of GNP. The Deputy is well aware that a great deal of the debt was incurred while he and his colleagues were in Government, but he will be pleased to know that, for the first time since 1975, this year the proportion of revenue going on payments of interest is the same as last year. For each of the other years there was a substantial increase.

I am not trying to harass the Minister on this, but it might be no harm if he were to emphasise to the people and use whatever means he has to bring home to them the fact that one-fifth of what the State spends——

This is a statement.

——is spent to pay interest on what the State owes.

I am calling Question No. 7. We cannot have a speech.

If the Minister would be in a position to cut personal income tax by one-third——

That might be so if I had not inherited the amount of debt that I did.

The debts of this State have been mounting up since the State was founded.

I agree, but the rate at which they increased under the Coalition Government was unprecedented and we have nothing to show for it.

Is it true that the Minister will be budgeting this year to borrow almost £800 million?

We cannot ask questions regarding borrowing.

The Minister has referred to it himself.

We cannot allow a discussion.

Did the Government spend over £800 million last year?

I know that Deputy Barry is concerned about the bringing out of his record and that of his colleagues in government.