Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. It is unreal that just 12 months after the last election, when commitments were given on how well the country was doing and how important it was that the incumbent regime remained in place to maintain this success, that we are here today discussing what is nothing short of a serious crisis.

I note that my colleague, Deputy O'Hanlon, decided to go back to 1987 and make comparisons with figures from that time. I ask him to go back further, to 1977, when the then Fianna Fáil Government brought about an economic disaster for this country from which it took us almost 20 years to recover.

My party leader, Deputy Enda Kenny and party colleague, Deputy Enright, have already raised the issue of the €85 million that is being removed from the budget for the care of the elderly. Front-line staff in the HSE are not being replaced and beds are being closed down, despite the fact that the Taoiseach stated yesterday that health and education would be exempt from cutbacks. As far as the people of Monaghan and Cavan are concerned, the mismanagement and cutbacks in the health sector are causing serious concern, especially to the elderly and disabled. Approximately 100 beds have been removed in the past ten years from the service of the public in Monaghan General Hospital and further cutbacks are on the way. No public nursing home beds have been created, which means that subvention is vital for those who cannot get accommodation in the public sector.

The other major shock for Cavan and Monaghan is that the long-awaited decentralisation programme has also been axed, with the loss of 110 jobs in County Monaghan and 325 in County Cavan. More than 85 people had already planned to move to a new social welfare Department in Carrickmacross while some members of departmental staff are already in place in Cavan town. A total of 325 other people with full-time jobs in Cavan town would have created the much needed workforce in the area and taken up at least some of the oversupply in the current housing market. The biggest anxiety of regions such as ours is that, historically, this Government has failed to supply any foreign investment in this region. If the further cutback of €1 billion for next year is to go ahead, the future certainly looks bleak. Jobs have been lost in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Unemployment in County Monaghan has increased by over 40% in the past 12 months and by almost 30% in County Cavan.

Before yesterday's cutbacks were ever mentioned, plans for schools such as Rockcorry national school, which was promised a new school building last year, have already been put on hold. The new restructured primary school for Virginia announced on 5 April 2007 is also on hold, as are many others.

Commitments were given at the final peace talks in St. Andrews. The Taoiseach as Minister for Finance was part of those talks. It is vital that all the commitments made in that final agreement, which is so important to the peace process on this island, are actually carried through. In my own region, I am speaking about such issues as the Ulster Canal and the motorway from Derry city and Donegal town to Dublin.

The price of oil and international markets create problems for any government but, clearly, our Government's failure to deal with these situations is in stark contrast to that of our European colleagues such as Germany, France, Holland or even the UK. The facts are that this Government has failed to manage and it is at its door that we must place the blame.

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