Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Yes, and for the past two months everyone in the Government wanted the cloak of social partnership wrapped around him or her. At every public meeting, members of the Government stated that social partnership is the way forward. Last night, the Government's philosophy was tried and tested and obviously it did not bring the results the Government wanted.

As a result of two months of wasted time, the Government's vessel is holed below the waterline. I cannot understand how it is reported that at 3 a.m. the Government's proposals were put on the table before a large number of civil servants and union officials. During the previous two months €3 billion was added to the national debt because of the Government's prevarication and indecisiveness. Worse than wasted time is the fact that people who placed their trust in Government that a coherence would emerge have been betrayed.

This party has long recognised the magnitude of this economic crisis. It is not today or yesterday that we were pointing out the wrong direction in which the Government was moving and the need to secure big savings in public spending that are fair and balanced. As the crisis in the economy and the public finances escalated over the past 18 months, there has been a clear vacuum of leadership at the heart of the Government. Instead of setting out a clear recovery strategy and seeking to win popular support from those who count in the country, the Government, from its analysis and proposals, pursued a strategy of denial, delay, obfuscation and what eventually amounted to secret negotiations in respect of which all the Members elected to this House by the people were left in the dark.

The people and their representatives were, at all times, excluded from this process. Proposals put forward in this Chamber for cuts in spending, pay moderation and public service reform were dismissed and cast aside arrogantly by the Government. Instead of accepting them, Fianna Fáil turned again to its once-tight network of power brokers and vested interests, as it has always done, to give its inept Government some political cover and to make some attempt at credibility. This approach to government has always relied on Fianna Fáil's ability, particularly over the past 11 years, to dish out the goodies to well-connected interest groups. As the bubble economy implodes, there is no more room for political patronage from the Fianna Fáil Party.

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