Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the adjournment of the House for its summer recess and more important, the economic and social issues currently facing us. I firmly believe we must take care in correctly addressing the challenges that face us. We must not make the same mistakes we made in the past such as curtailing capital investment which led to crumbling infrastructure in the 1980s. In addressing the difficulties we face, we must distinguish the situation from the downturn of the 1980s. There is a number of key economic and social factors in our favour. We have a work force which is young, dynamic and adaptable, with 2.1 million people in employment. The size of this work force puts us in a better position to support the current far more extensive social programmes. We have flexible markets, including the labour market. These markets are characterised by a light regulatory burden. In the labour market, greater flexibility has been key to the creation of over 700,000 jobs over the past decade. We have a pro-enterprise environment in which the burden of taxation on both capital and labour is low. This has facilitated a greater entrepreneurial success and the significant growth in small and medium-sized enterprises that are key to greater balanced regional economic development. General Government debt is forecast to be about 26% of GDP at the end of 2008, one of the lowest ratios in the euro area and net debt is around 14%. We are currently running a budget surplus.

The strong economic and social circumstances that exist allow us to be optimistic for the medium-term future of our economy and society. However, the Government is aware of the formidable challenges facing both our economy and the most vulnerablein our society. These difficulties include a continuation of international financial market difficulties, rising food and commodity prices, which were the main focus of two international ministerial meetings I have attended at the OECD and ASEM in the past fortnight, adverse exchange rate movements and a general weakening of the economic outlook in several of our major trading partners.

The Government and its predecessors have a strong record of targeting State assistance to the most vulnerable in society. This commitment will continue through the present economic difficulties. Spending on health and children will be in excess of €16 billion in 2008, a fourfold increase since 1997. All service areas have benefited from this greatly increased funding. There has been an increase of approximately 5,100 additional health front line staff since 2005. The €900 million multi-annual investment programme for high priority disability services announced in the 2005 budget has created in excess of 500 additional residential places, over 200 additional respite places and 1,000 additional day places since 2005.

The legislation to introduce fair deal, a new scheme to support people in long-stay care, is currently being prepared and will be published as soon as possible, following Government approval. The Government provided €110 million in the 2008 Estimates for this scheme. In the interim, I wish to reassure the House and the general public that the current arrangements for nursing home subvention will continue uninterrupted.

The Taoiseach this morning dealt with the issue of the school building and modernisation programme under the national development programme and pointed out that approximately €590 million has been provided for the school building programme this year.

Resources provided for policing have expanded rapidly with the Garda budget standing at over €1.6 billion. Garda numbers have been increased to over 14,000. Extra civilians have been taken on and resources are also being invested in technology.

The report on national development progress in 2007 will soon be available and will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. This report will detail the very significant investment in social inclusion, including investment in child care, supports for young people, supports for the unemployed to access education and employment, services for older people and other measures to combat social exclusion. To say we in Government have not been active in underpinning the foundations for future sustainable growth is wide of the mark. We are actively working to ensure greater equality of opportunity so that all of our people can contribute towards an economic upturn. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the current Dáil session be extended to allow the annual report of the national development plan to be debated in the week beginning 7 July 2008. In this regard, the Government looks forward to a constructive and informed debate on the report.

With regard to the more general question of the length of Dáil sittings, comparisons with the legislatures and administrations of much larger countries are, in my opinion, of limited validity. The lengths of breaks have been significantly shortened compared to what they were in the 1980s. The practice of the rainbow coalition was the same as its successors. The Government will be focusing in particular on the Estimates in July and September. Outside August, Oireachtas committees will continue to meet. Ministers and Deputies will have the opportunity to take on a range of political engagements — locally, nationally and sometimes internationally — that are not always possible when the Dáil is sitting.

Yesterday, Deputy Gilmore referred to odium while another Opposition Deputy mentioned public relations. These are points one must take seriously in light of events last week. At the same time, if one analyses the word "odium", it means that some newspapers, in order to boost their circulations, will try to have some fun, yet again, at the expense of Members of this House. We should stand up for ourselves and not cower before cartoons and cheap comments. If one applied the same criteria to some of the people who write these things, I dare say we would not have too much difficulty justifying our work rate. We have a lot of work to do all year round, bar short breaks to which we, like everybody else, are entitled. I do not think we should apologise for the way we do our business.

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