Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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No they did not, they were not in government. Let me move on. Private investment has also collapsed, more so in this country than elsewhere in Europe. It comes at a time when there are large cash mountains in Europe created by major corporations. There was an article recently in the Financial Timesabout a survey by Standard & Poor's saying that the top 2,000 listed corporations had a mountain of cash of €4.5 trillion between them. The problem in terms of private investment and big business is not access to cash. It is a choice, based on profit, not to invest at this stage. What does the Minister suggest to do about that? Does it not point to a fundamental problem about private ownership of this wealth and the need for major public investment?