Mr. Robert Watt:

My comment was in response to Deputy Pringle's suggestion that perhaps it was civil servants around the country. That is why I suggested that Deputies Howlin and Noonan should be invited here to give their views on the matter.

I do not disagree with what has been said about opportunities. I am sure that the Deputy gets a sense from our contributions that we made this afternoon that we believe the urgency and scale of this challenge. It will involve enormous societal change which, in turn, will provide enormous opportunities. It will involve difficult decisions. Some sectors will go into the decline while others will grow and prosper. I do not look on this negatively; on the contrary, there will be great opportunities. However, it will involve the pain of transition. We should be upfront about some of those issues and not try to duck them. I believe that this is an opportunity for sectors to grow, prosper and provide employment.