Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

Fine Gael will continue to campaign for and on behalf of local communities that have been ignored or treated with contempt by the Government. We will stand up for those parents whose children are not being fully supported by the State. Children are being ignored because they have special needs, which certainly is not right.

The Minister for Finance has turned a €2.3 billion Exchequer surplus into a €4.9 billion deficit because of the sloppy, self-indulgent and wasteful manner in which he has spent money for more than two years. This constitutes the worst decline in Exchequer finances in the history of the State and must be debated. How and why did this happen? Although the Minister for Finance stated nine months ago that he would entirely wipe out Government debt, the Minister now intends to borrow €5 billion. The increases in current and capital spending of €4 billion and €1billion, respectively, reveal the destination of that €5 billion in borrowing.

While the stamp duty reform is welcome, it came nine months too late. Since the Tánaiste introduced the budget last December, all the economic indicators have been revised downwards. Much more difficult economic times certainly lie ahead. Unemployment is increasing; Ireland is close to the top of the European inflation league and the property market, despite the Tánaiste's botched attempts at stamp duty reform, is flat and is not working.

Although Ireland has one of the highest levels of personal indebtedness in Europe, the Tánaiste continues to insist all is well. I refer to another indicator with which the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with responsibility for housing, urban renewal and developing areas, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, is familiar. In 2004, 134 summonses were issued by the courts for house repossession. Last year, 465 summonses were issued, which constitutes an increase of 350%.

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