Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Certainly I cannot do the kind of damage in three minutes that the Government has managed to do in the past six of seven years. I was amazed to hear a Government backbencher suggesting that the Opposition should be invited in to see the books which are in a complete mess and the country is broke. The country is now bankrupt and the Government is looking for suggestions from the Opposition. It did not invite anyone over, even though the Opposition advised it five, six and seven years ago. The Opposition was told it was stupid, that those of us on these benches were prophets of doom and did not know what we were talking about; now it knows as well.

Deputy Mitchell made the point that there is not a hope on earth of taking €4 billion out of this economy next year or any other year from here on in and ensure the country is still surviving. Even the people over there must know this by now. No regard has been taken of the fact that a significant number of families bought houses at exorbitant prices, took out huge mortgages in the past six or seven years and pay child minding fees in order that both parents can go to work to pay for the mortgage. There is not a hope on earth that they will survive in the climate that will be created. Deputy Rabbitte and others have referred to the so-called pensions levy. This is not a pensions levy as it has nothing to do with pensions; it is a complete retrenchment, a hitting back at the unfortunate public. It is a penalty which the public will have to pay for through the nose and it is a swingeing attack on people who are totally innocent, who did not contribute to this situation but who unfortunately followed Government policy to such an extent that now they are paying the price. It is an appalling situation and I do not know that the people fully realise the magnitude of the likely impact on them.

The notion is that this proposal will stabilise the economy but it will have the opposite effect. It will break the backs of the people, the economy and, more worryingly, it will do nothing for the competitiveness of this economy which is the area in which we have lost out most seriously.

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