Opposition Senators joined forces to demand that the PLP "tell the truth'' on an alleged claim that those renting a home would only have to spend 25 percent of their income.

Opposition Senate Leader Maxwell Burgess said it was living in "Alice in Wonderland'' to expect anyone to find a property that would cost a quarter of their earnings.

"I am ready for them to show the public if a man earns $100,000, they are suggesting that his housing will cost $25,000 -- the maths doesn't work and to send that signal out to the community is wrong,'' he said.

He said the Government had misled the public and it was time they came clean on the subject.

The PLP's election platform promised to review the Government Housing Allowance Programme so rents that exceeded 25 percent of family income were subsidised.

Sen. Kim Swan said there was a lot of people who had listened to the PLP prior to the election and now believed they were going to wave a magic wand on housing.

"It is incumbent on the Government to tell them the truth, that it is not going to happen,'' he said.

Sen. Burgess suggested that a new role for the Rent Commissioner could be to act as a liaison between landlords and tenants, to determine fair rents.

He said a free market system of setting rent levels was probably the fairest way, adding that landlords would not invest in real estate unless they were to get a reasonable return on their investment.

And he warned that if landlords started to pull out of renting then it would start to fall on the Government to provide more housing through the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

Discussing the Health and Family Services section of the budget, Sen. Burgess reiterated that he believed the poor should be helped but not by pulling down the more fortunate members of society.

There was a risk that putting up health care costs would directly affect the less well off in society and he implored the PLP to keep a rein on increases.

Sen. Swan said he was pleased that the Government had kept on UBP plans to build 100 homes and to encourage the renovation of vacant homes for rent.

Senate President Alf Oughton commented on health care and the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, which he said was world class and one Bermuda should be proud of.

But he said there were capital projects on the books which he didn't know where they would find the money for.

He said outpatient charges were higher here than in the US but that was because they subsidised in-patient care. Government Sen. Calvin Smith rubbished UBP claims on education and health spending.

Although it was accepted in society that people looked after their own, he said there were 850 people receiving social assistance out of 2,300 households on the Island.

"These people are suffering mental and physical handicaps, I can understand the Senator not being concerned about these people but the PLP are,'' he said.

Discussing Development, Opportunity and Government Services, Sen. Michael Scott said the civilianisation of the Police force was proceeding but some departments, such as CID, still required more staff.

Management services were to work with all Government departments to improve efficiency and weed out pockets of sloppiness, he added.