Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I draw Members' attention to the fact that for this most important debate on one of the most critical days in our economic cycle given the very bad news we received today there sits not one senior Minister, Deputy, Green Party Deputy, former Progressive Democrats Deputy or one of their supporters on the Government benches. They cannot all be hiding. Some of them are probably fleeing the country in their helicopters. The fact is they are not here because they may not want to face the music before us. If they are listening, I invite them to come into the House. We will tell them what it is like but they will not escape the wrath of the people in the forthcoming elections.

What is happening is that the hopes and dreams of all our young people and their families are being shattered before our eyes. The queues outside dole offices are not just made up of labourers and working class people but bricklayers, IT specialists, graduates, doctors, nurses and solicitors. There is a whole new world of people who have received a fine education but to whom we do not provide the second part of the equation — a job and a future. The blame for this awful state of affairs rests squarely with Fianna Fáil and its buddies — the builders and the bankers. Throughout the country people are outraged at the lack of action on the part of the Government and the corruption and the carry on in politics. The culture of political corruption exposed at the tribunals is spreading like a cancer throughout all of our systems in business and commerce. We have undermined our prospects for the future and those of future generations.

The Government stands condemned. It is planning more cuts and those who will suffer most are the old, the young and the most vulnerable. The measure of any just society is the way it treats those who are most vulnerable at a time of need. The Government stands indicted, not just here in the Dáil or the court of public opinion but in the hearts and minds of Irish people everywhere for what it has not done and for what it is failing to do. It must go.

The Government could have anticipated the very bad figures announced today but what does it intend to do? It states it will think about what it will do. There is no decisive action, no clarity or purpose or intention and no national plan. There is no presence here either, which is a disgrace. The people are extremely angry at what is happening here.

I refer to what is happening in my constituency of Louth. Vibrant busy towns such as Drogheda, Dundalk and Ardee are now ghost towns at weekends and on shopping nights because there are no shoppers. Many of them do not have the money to shop, while a significant number travel north of the Border to get a better deal with the small amount of money available to them. This is a message for the Tánaiste who puffs and pants about what she will do about retail outlets and saving jobs that are being haemorrhaged left, right and centre in the retail trade. The likes of Tesco and Marks & Spencer are ripping off consumers who shop south of the Border through the differential between sterling and euro prices. What is she doing about this? The answer is absolutely nothing. Suppliers to Tesco are being told that if they do not come up with various sums, in some cases in excess of €1 million, they will lose their contracts. What is the Minister doing about this? Again, the answer is absolutely nothing. The Government is an abject and total failure. It has shamefully disgraced itself by its absence. I could go on but clear and decisive action must be taken, particularly in Border counties such as County Louth.

Why do we not have a new deal for local government? Why do we not have a rates moratorium for businesses which cannot pay rates, publicans who cannot pay their staff and shops which cannot meet their bank bills? That is not happening because the Minister of State is not making it happen. He is running away from the problem. He is the only Government Member in the Chamber to listen to the debate. The rest are cowards. They are afraid to face the music but they will not get away with it forever.

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