Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

The previous speaker referred to the comments made in the House, the impact on the economy of those comments and the need for honesty. However, it is the lack of competence and reassurance from the Government benches that has led to the lack of confidence in our economy. Last weekend, the former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, was quoted as saying that the huge problem currently facing the world markets and causing the lack of confidence in Ireland is the lack of a plan. Since last July we have been promised a plan from the Government and we still have not seen one. At least if there was a plan laid before the House, we could debate it and argue its pros and cons. Instead we have the abacus economics of this Government on fundamental issues which will not only have an impact on the economy today, but also will mortgage our children's future. If this Government gets it wrong, we are also mortgaging the following generation's future.

I wish to compare the situation in Ireland to that in Australia. At the end of last month, Deputy Rabbitte and I met with a member of the Australian Parliament. She spoke to us about the Australian Government coming forward with a second stimulus package to try to support the economy amounting to €26 billion. Deputy Rabbitte and I asked her where the money was sourced and she replied that it came from their reserve. The Australian Government had put money aside in the good times in order to deal with future challenges. However, our Government squandered every cent it got and the only commitment given at the end of the year was to spend every cent in the bank. This is the reason there are electronic voting machines lying in a shed in County Meath and computer systems that do not work and issue weekly staff payment cheques of €1 million.

The rainbow coalition Government created 1,000 jobs a week and now we are losing four jobs every five minutes. This has been caused by the Government's greed and the failure to broaden the tax base. The Government fuelled the property bubble and failed to invest in broadband, education and training. Previous speakers have referred to the banks and that this is an international crisis. I agree there is an international banking crisis but this is because many of the banks around the world invested in the US sub-prime market, either directly or indirectly, but our banks did not do this. Our banks suffered from a lack of basic regulation of their day-to-day finances and this is the reason the country has ended up in the mess. Leaving aside the sub-prime situation, we were always going to have a problem because of the lack of regulation. It is really galling that the Financial Regulator, who was supposed to be policing the sector, is given a golden handshake, a reward for his abject failure and the abject failure of this Government to regulate the financial services sector.

We are debating the imposition of a public service tax. A total of 70% of the Government's €2 billion will be raised by this tax. The Government should at least be honest with the public servants and tell them it is a tax. Telling them it is a pension levy is misleading and wrong. We all know that a 12% discount was applied to public service employees in the second round of benchmarking as a result of their pension entitlements so this has already been factored into the calculation. That there is no evidence of the Government leading by example galls public servants, given its waste, bureaucracy and extravagance in the past 12 years.

Fine Gael has tabled an alternative mechanism to address the funding issues. For example, the urgently required overhaul of FÁS would save €150 million. The comments in yesterday's newspapers regarding its former director general were appalling. Following a vote of the FÁS board, he has been allowed to keep his luxury car in addition to his lump sum payment of €111,000 and a contribution to his pension worth €330,000. Every individual on the board should resign. Those who voted against Mr. Molloy getting a luxury car in addition to the amount of €441,000 should have resigned because their colleagues were not prepared to support them. Those who voted in favour should resign in shame, having used public funds to hand something to Mr. Molloy in addition to his golden handshake.

It is appalling that, according to the reports, between €50,000 and €70,000 was spent on a PR company to defend the indefensible concerning public funds that were squandered by that organisation in the past ten years. It is a national disgrace, but the Government continues to turn a blind eye to the matter and to the golden handshakes being given in banks.

At the other end of the pay scale, clerical officers and cleaners on €15,000 or €20,000 are suffering significant tax increases and additional charges. I am not just referring to this pension levy, but to increases in VHI charges and electricity costs owing to gross mismanagement of regulation. It is considerably frustrating for people to watch what is occurring and to see the Government turning a blind eye and being unprepared to lead by example on these basic issues.

Fine Gael has proposed a number of areas in which savings could be made. We could get rid of many of the quangos and save at least €50 million per year. Were we to introduce legislation on generic drugs similar to that introduced in the House a number of years ago by the now Tánaiste, the then Minister for Agriculture and Food, and apply it to the health service, our savings would amount to €200 million per year.

The Government is not prepared to consider areas in which we could rid ourselves of some of the squander of the past 12 years, but it is prepared to make clerical officers pay more in tax and levies than a consultant on €250,000 per year. This is a damning indictment of the proposals tabled in the House. We on this side find it unacceptable that the Government, while not being prepared to address the mismanagement of public funds, is penalising some of the lowest paid workers in the public service. Many anomalies have been articulated by my colleagues.

With regard to the issue of immigration, asylum accommodation costs increased by €15.5 million last year, but the number of people accommodated has decreased in recent years. The Refugee Appeals Tribunal, which Members on this side want to see abolished for being unjust and unfair, costs more than €200 million per annum. Every year, we will spend €6 million providing accommodation at Thornton Hall for those who will be deported to non-EU countries through our immigration system. The accommodation provided amounts to 17 times more than what is required, given the numbers going through the system.

There is plenty of room in which to save the €2 billion this year and the €4 billion next year referred to by the Government, but Ministers must take decisions and examine where public funds are being squandered. It is frustrating that on the Government side of the House, there is no respect for the fact that the money in question is being paid into the Government's coffers by workers for whom earning it is difficult. The Government is spending the money like it was snuff at a wake. How much time have I remaining?

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