Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I entered this House in 1987. At that stage, the economy was in tatters. Tens of thousands of young people were emigrating, unemployment was 17% or 18%, inflation was through the roof and there appeared to be a very bleak future. The Acting Chairman will remember how the phrase "Will the last person leaving the island switch off the light?" was coined. A Fianna Fáil Government assumed power in 1987 and took very decisive action to reverse those trends and to lay the foundations for future prosperity.

As a young backbencher, I learned a few good lessons from that. The change and turnaround in the next 20 years was done on the basis of social partnership with unions, farmers, employers and Government. I must acknowledge that at that time, it was done with the assistance and support of the then Leader of the Opposition, Alan Dukes, as part of his famous Tallaght strategy which cost him his place as leader of Fine Gael some time after that.

The other lessons I learned from that experience was that decisive action in the national interest should always take precedence over short-term political popularity and that people will support action, no matter how difficult it is, if they perceive it to be necessary and proportionate. While the economic challenge about which we are talking today is not as serious for our economy as the one we faced in the late 1980s because of the progress we have made, we have difficulties which we must and will tackle.

On Tuesday, this Government made the necessary tough choices. We took these tough decisions now to avoid even tougher times later. The budget shortfall, which is driven largely by the change in the economy, the rise in unemployment because of difficulties in the construction sector, oil prices and the international banking crisis, dictates that we must focus even more of our resources on the productive areas of the economy and ensure we protect the most vulnerable in society.

With the decisions we have taken, I believe we have done that. I have no doubt some of the decisions we must take will be unpopular. We knew that when we made them. Governments do not have the luxury of just making popular decisions. They must make hard decisions that affect people at times. Despite what the media and commentators might say, politics is hugely relevant to the people and decisions we make here on all sides of the House have an affect on the public. However, we believe that these decisions will yield the greatest benefit while we navigate the current economic turbulence we are experiencing.

I will outline the changes to my Estimates as part of the Government effort to consolidate the budget for 2008. Savings of €20 million in capital funding will be made in the Department of Transport this year. Savings of €133,000 in the administrative budget of the Department will be made this year. Further savings of €156,000 will be made through efficiencies in the agencies funded by the Department. Savings of €1.9 million will be made in the Department in the area of consultancy-payroll costs, advertising and PR. A saving of 2% will be made in 2009 in the area of procurement. In common with other Departments, a saving of 3% will be made in 2009 in the area of payroll costs.

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