John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Senator Burke is going to higher office. This is probably the last chance some of us will have to say something in this House. I would like to make some final remarks after 30-odd years in the Oireachtas. Every citizen of this country has a duty to support the Government as it tries to ensure our 12.5% corporation tax rate is not changed. If it is changed, this country's chances of recovering from its present situation will be very poor. We will be bounced from left to right by Sarkozy and Merkel. As everybody here knows, they have totally vested interests in trying to hammer the Irish economy. I have said publicly and privately that the rate being charged to this country for the bailout is unsustainable.

I wish the new Government luck. It has the full support and confidence of the people of this country as it tries to renegotiate the deal. If we cannot do so, the jobs we hope to create in the future will be created elsewhere. In such circumstances, the jobs mentioned in the programme for Government will not be created in Ireland - they will be created in France, Germany and across Europe and we will be the lame duck once more. I do not want to see us return to that. Some of us are old enough to remember pre-EU times. We know what they were like. We are aware of the benefits the EU has brought to this country. We should not allow the EU to take from future generations the benefits we have enjoyed.

That is all I wanted to say. I wish the very best to my colleagues who are standing in the Seanad election. I thank the staff of the House for their co-operation over the years.