TAX cuts worth £1 billion must be introduced during the life of any new national pay agreement or "all bets are off", the general secretary of the country's largest trade union has told the Government.
Mr Bill Attley, of SIPTU, told delegates to the union's Dublin regional conference at the weekend that "very shortly union members and every taxpayer will get the opportunity to measure the response of Government to the legitimate demands of the PAYE sector against the concessions they have made to farmers. Anything less than concessions of £1 billion will, I believe, be seen by the PAYE sector as a betrayal.
"Quite frankly, I find it sickening to see Government Ministers trying to dampen down workers' expectations in the face of the record level of tax accruing to the Exchequer, and falling over themselves to push money at the `Big Farmers'.
"This time we want, over the period of the programme, £1 billion in tax reduction and how this will affect each taxpayer for each year. Should the Government fail to deliver, then we would treat this as we would any employer, namely a breach of agreement and all bets are off."
He said the Government was claiming it had less funds than anticipated in the Budget because of EU fines over beef industry irregularities, compensation for BSE and the extra costs of Border security to contain the disease.
He accused farmers of systematically trying to poison Irish consumers. "We need a Government that will finally stand up to the farmers and withdraw forever all EU and Exchequer grants."
Speaking at the same conference, the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, told delegates the benefits of national agreements for individual workers were clear. If major social problems like unemployment were to be tackled it could only be done through a new national programme.
During the PCW, take home pay for a singleworker on low pay had increased by 14.6 per cent, he said. That of a married worker on low pay, with one adult dependant and two children had increased by 16 per cent.
Competitiveness remained the key to economic growth, Mr Quinn said. The advent of EMU would create particular problems in this area, which were best tackled through national agreements.
At the union's south west region conference in Killarney, a SIPTU vice president, Mr Jimmy Somers, also warned the Government against pulling back on tax cuts for the PAYE sector. "Provide the long awaited tax cuts or there will be no further national deal," he said.
Far from the Government's talk of unanticipated Exchequer costs moderating the union approach to tax reform, it appears to have had the opposite effect.
The south west regional secretary, Mr John McDonnell, told delegates that the chances of a successful outcome to national talks with the Government and employers "are not good at all." Members and branches should now start to put plans in place on the basis that we will be entering a period of "free for all around the end of the year, or the beginning of 1997".