Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

We were to see class sizes reduced so that no infant would be in a class of more than 20. We were to see the proportion of people paying tax at the top rate reduced to 20% but the figures today show none of these commitments will be honoured. They have become purely pious aspirations.

We have been down the road of five-year plans before and if the hot air at these launches could be harnessed, we would have no problem generating electricity. It would be renewable electricity because the plans would be relaunched every few years. These multi-year plans come with no prices, no warranty, no manufacturer's guarantee, no recourse for misleading descriptions and when they are not honoured, no one takes the rap. People have grown weary and sceptical of them.

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