Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Howlin comes into the House at the end of the year and thinks he can slip through €1 billion in Supplementary Estimates that arise from flawed budgeting. There was no overspending in the Department of Health. The Minister, Deputy Howlin, had a flawed budget for that Department to start with. Everybody told him the figures passed by the House last year were not adequate for the job. The Minister is talking today about achieving another €781 million in cuts for next year. That is not true. It is fairyland stuff. The Minister spun it for the year and he is doing it again.

In the Department of Education and Skills, there is another broken promise from the Labour Party in the form of an extra €250 in student fees, all to raise €55 million. It is a small figure in the education budget but the Minister is making students pay. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, stated a week ago that he is happy with his budget and he has come here today looking to cut €123 million from that budget. These are issues that need to be addressed by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, and his Department over the course of the year.

As we are all aware, this time next year the troika will have gone home. There is only one thing standing between Ireland and the troika going home, and that is how the Minister manages the Government's finances between now and then.

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