Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I certainly welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important topic. Last week, when I had a few brief moments to talk about it, I mentioned two issues, the first of which was the negativity that emanates from this Chamber. As a nation we do not benefit when the Opposition, day in, day out, talks down the country and talks about the negative aspects. We are in a most serious worldwide crisis. No country is free of problems. We see what is happening in America, Britain and across Europe. As a Parliament, we should recognise publicly that we have major problems. Borrowing €55 million a day is not sustainable. In our private lives none of us would expect that we could spend more money than we earn.

It is time the Labour Party stated publicly that we have major problems and that we must do something about it. The media today have put it bluntly to the Labour Party that it must offer solutions. It is easy to criticise. I accept it is the Opposition's role to offer criticism but it must offer solutions also. I was brought up in a business environment where from a young age I was told bluntly that if I disagreed with a business proposal I had to put forward a credible alternative. I accept we have problems but the Opposition must offer solutions. At a time of national crisis the Members of Parliament should endeavour to work together to come up with solutions rather than the crossfire we hear day in, day out. All Members have been contacted by people who have lost their job, are about to lose their job or have a family member who has lost a job. The public expect us to show solidarity with their plight. They do not like to see media stories about Opposition party leaders criticising the Taoiseach. People expect us to come up with solutions.

Yesterday, Moody's put Ireland in a negative category. Fortunately, we still retain our AAA status. If people abroad detect negativity from parliamentarians they will ask questions about Ireland Inc. If we borrow €55 million a day it behoves us as a Parliament to ensure that the people from whom we seek the money will give us the best possible interest rate. It is critical that we do not get further into debt and that we can borrow at the best available terms. Bickering in this Chamber does not help the situation.

Deputy Rabbitte is a man for whom I have great respect. I suggest the Labour Party changes tack in the national interest. Let us fight each other on minor issues but let us collectively put our shoulder to the wheel on the economy so that we can get from where we are today to where we need to go tomorrow and in the future. The public and the 330,000 people who are on the dole might appreciate that more. Let us get over apportioning blame to various parties and groups. The public do not want to hear about blame, they want us to take action.

We must get our public finances in order. Everybody in the Chamber privately accepts that we must reduce public spending by €2 billion this year, €4 billion in the following two years, €3 billion in the fourth year and €3.5 billion in the fifth year. People in this Chamber should be big enough to say that is what we must do and come up with ways of doing it. The Government made its decision yesterday. The Opposition should recognise that was a courageous and correct move or it should put forward an alternative. It is not good enough to say the cuts are being made in the wrong sector. Neither is it good enough to say people in certain salary categories should be excluded unless an alternative is put forward.

No Member will hear a person say he or she is affected more than another person. The people who work in this House are affected, the same as we, the politicians, are — some more so than others. Perhaps the measures require a little tweaking here and there. I am sure that can be achieved when the Bill comes before the Dáil in the coming weeks. The broad principle of everybody putting their shoulder to the wheel and taking some of the pain is reasonable.

The stabilisation of our banking system is the second issue on which the Government has been concentrating. Each one of us in the Chamber is critical of what happened in Anglo Irish Bank and the actions of certain directors. However, as politicians, we should accept we need a banking system, as our economy cannot function without it. We cannot let any bank fail. I do not wish to harp on about the past, I look forward to the future. I hope that when the Government introduces the recapitalisation plan for AIB and Bank of Ireland, the Labour Party will accept the reality that we must do that in the national interest, whether we like it or not.

I agree with what the Taoiseach said yesterday, that the salaries of banking executives need to be reduced substantially. It is gratifying that President Obama followed the Taoiseach's lead yesterday. The American Government is putting $800 billion into the system. It is good that the American Government can print money to put into business or bail out banks. We do not have that luxury in Ireland as we cannot print our own money. The British Government has taken the position also that it can print off hundreds of millions of sterling and that will resolve the issue but I am not convinced.

We must get our finances in order and stabilise the banking system. We must get back to being cost-effective and competitive in business. We became a high wage economy in the Celtic tiger years. I regret to say that we ensured certain businesses would go to the Far East and eastern Europe where the wages are one third of ours. It does not come easy to say it but that is the reality. In the current recession we can introduce cost-effectiveness to business and then when the good times come we will be in a position to move forward again.

I welcome the €150 million investment by the Government in home insulation schemes and the school building programme. We need to get small businesses working so they can retain jobs. If every small business in the country created only one extra job we would have more than 100,000 extra jobs. We must ensure small businesses survive. The Government is committed to ensure that small businesses will be facilitated through the measures it will introduce in the coming weeks.

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