Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

We are now seeing education as the target, with increased class sizes. This is happening at a time when education should be reinforced if we are to be competitive at this time of global difficulties. It is not that long ago, 40 years, since a Fianna Fáil Minister understood this. Times were tougher then, but he understood we needed universal, well-resourced education. When Donogh O'Malley introduced free second level education, he understood how valuable that investment was.

It is interesting to note the attack now being made on the idea of universal entitlement. Donogh O'Malley had no problem with universal entitlement because he understood that was the way forward. Another Fianna Fáil Minister, Erskine Childers, introduced the GMS, which was based on the idea of universal entitlement to access to a GP. This is the kind of thinking Fianna Fáil has jettisoned totally. Instead, we now have a kind of ideological warfare directed at the principle of universal entitlements.

In the health area we have seen a reintroduction of means testing in a most inefficient way in order to find a possible 5% of our population of over 70s who should not be getting free medical cards. This results in an unnecessary and costly administrative apparatus, to what end? We also now have a situation where we will have tax breaks with regard to private health insurance payments because of a court judgment on risk equalisation. These two measures reinforce more than anything the justification to move to a universal health insurance system where everybody will pay health insurance according to his or her means, everybody will receive cover and we will have free access to primary care. This will keep people out of hospital and enable us carry out the preventative work that is so valuable.

I welcome the fact we are now having this ideological debate. I remember, not long ago, Fukiama spoke about the end of history where somehow we all ended up in the middle so there was no longer to be any conflict. Looking at recent events, sure as hell, there is conflict now. Even the debate on the election in the US demonstrates there is an ideological battle going on. I welcome the fact this is in the open again because it raises issues about the role of the state.

We have had this debate here with regard to the bank bail-out, which has been rightly described as socialism for capitalists. If the State is there to protect bankers, is it there to protect those who are even more worthy? If we have reckless bankers who have over-lent to developers, why are they considered worthy of protection while mortgage payers are not? What about mortgage payers who are unable to pay their mortgage of €1,500 or €2,000 per month? Will they be given priority when the demand arises to recapitalise the banks that have been so reckless?

What is the State's role in this regard? Has it a role for example in taking back the telecommunications infrastructure that Eircom has not developed as it should have in the interest of ensuring Ireland is to the forefront of the industry? We are the eighth worst country in the OECD with regard to broadband delivery. This is a shameful record. I remember a time when a Minister said we would be to the forefront of the telecommunications revolution. That promise was never delivered.

On the issue of fuel poverty, an increase of €2 in the allowance and provision for two extra weeks' payment is pathetic. Some people facing the winter cannot afford to stay warm. Thousands of people live in fuel poverty. When I asked the Minister of State to tell me how many there were, he could not tell me. The energy document published made all sorts of commitments on fuel poverty, but the Minister of State does not even know how many are living in fuel poverty. We are dependent on organisations like Combat Poverty to tell us, but that organisation is to be done away with, or at the least emasculated so that it will no longer be able to do that kind of job effectively.

We have a serious situation with regard to how we can support families and elderly people to keep warm this winter. This is not being done and the budget has not delivered in this area. I remind the Government that it is estimated that thousands of elderly people die each year as a result of not being able to keep warm in winter. The health implications in this regard are significant. We have one of the highest levels of this kind of death in Europe. The extra €2 for an additional two works is, in effect, worth nothing, considering the price of coal, electricity and gas. This is worrying and disappointing and people are justifiably angry.

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