Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Colleagues are entitled to their politics and I have no problem with that, except to say that I have been listening to all the speeches, including the recent contributions tonight. While Members make their political points, they are being honest enough to say that this has been a good, caring budget and that the job is being done. My colleague, Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, said the other day that this budget is all give and no take, with which I believe everyone in the House will agree. That is fair enough. The Minister's stamp is clearly on what is before the House and I am happy to compliment him in that regard.

The question of the challenge of carers is something that has been talked about a good deal at the joint committee meetings. I frequently make the point that all of us have had opportunities within our families to observe difficulties in that regard. I often speak of my father, who before he died ten years ago was cared for by my sister. Such a role presents many challenges and it is right to highlight the needs of carers whenever possible. I believe the Minister has listened and the reforms he has introduced will go a long way to helping families that are affected. As the saying goes, much done, more to do. We should continue to do what we can for carers and the public will be very much in favour of that.

I was not going to talk about my constituency. Some Members will know I represent Dublin South-West, which includes Tallaght, the third largest centre of population in the country. It also includes communities in Firhouse, Templeogue and Greenhills as well as in rural areas such as Bohernabreena and Brittas. I read in a newspaper this evening that someone claimed not to have seen me in a while. I have walked the streets of my constituency, week in and week out, and certainly over the past week or so I have visited every part and have been listening to what people are saying about the budget. Whether Members agree, people are responding positively to what was done, particularly as regards social welfare.

At a time when the economy is doing so well, as everyone admits, we must remember that as all craft rise the smaller boats must not be forgotten. The Taoiseach has often reminded us about this and it is something I do. I always recall learning from my Tallaght-based predecessor, former Deputy Chris Flood who, as everyone will agree, put his stamp on the social inclusion ethos and got the message across both within our party and in the House. We all want to ensure that the small boats are helped. In many of the measures introduced by the Minister, he has had a clear focus on the people in need.

We are all keen that the fuel and energy challenges faced by many families are met. I am from a bygone Dublin era. When I was small, I lived around here, funnily enough, and I recall people having difficulties and challenges with fuel and energy. That seemed to abate over the years as my life developed. Now there are challenges again and I am glad the Government has taken account of them.

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