Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

——that we need banks to operate in a normal commercial fashion. We cannot allow them to sink, as Fine Gael and the Labour Party seem to be suggesting.

In terms of the Government's plan, the Taoiseach reiterated today that the five-year plan is to reduce debt from 9.5% to 3% of GDP. The proposals to make savings of €3 billion, together with the €2 billion set out last week, represent the first steps. There will be more proposals by the end of the month. It will be interesting to see what Fine Gael and the Labour Party have to offer after they are briefed by officials in the Department of Finance. I look forward to their proposals for achieving savings of €20 billion. What tax increases will they propose? The Opposition keeps talking about mini-budgets but will not say how it proposes to increase taxation revenue or reduce public sector expenditure. Let us hear its proposals.

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