James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

Imitation is the best form of flattery. As such, thanks are due to the Taoiseach for affording Fine Gael the endorsement, at last, of taking on board our suggestion of an urgent budget. Not only will the production of an emergency budget let people know where they stand in regard to our financial situation, it will also focus the Government's thinking on what precisely the problem is and what can be done to rectify it. People are crying out for effective leadership. They want to have their confidence in this nation's future restored. I hope the introduction of an emergency budget will go some way to eliminating the mist in which the Government seems to be operating to the detriment of the country.

As I said earlier today during the debate on the Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2009, the Taoiseach and his Government turned a blind eye to the recession, failing even to recognise its existence until it was too late for short-term remedial action. Faced now with a long-term recovery period, the Government must finally outline its plans for economic recovery, fiscal stability and job creation. There must be an end to the large-scale wastage of resources evident in large bureaucracies such as the Health Service Executive, CIE and FÁS, which has remained unchecked under the Government.

More than any country in the world, Ireland has gone into a rapid downward spiral of economic deterioration. Unfortunately, we — again, more than any other country — had the means to cope with such deterioration. However, the Government squandered the wealth of the Celtic tiger and we are left struggling to retain our financial stability. Enthusiasm for a budget in the hands of the current Minister for Finance should be tempered with extreme caution. The savage and ill-conceived budget 2009 was a lesson to students of economics in how not to deal with a downturn. It is to be hoped that the mistakes of the past will lead to a well-conceived package of reform that will reduce the €45 billion borrowing requirement for 2009 and 2010. That is necessary if we are to meet the great challenges facing our economy.

Fine Gael has outlined a series of measures that could be taken to stabilise our economy, including a reduction in the number of Ministers of State and the elimination of half the Oireachtas committees. In France, for example, only eight parliamentary committees are in operation. Many of the wasteful allowances currently in operation must also be removed. There must be a revolution in the way politicians deal with taxpayers' money. The root of Ireland's unique difficulties is the crony capitalism of Fianna Fáil. That party is up to its neck in deceiving the people of this country. It is all about spin. Ministers do not read reports and officials do not report to Ministers. The Government is an international disgrace. It has been in bed with the banks and property speculators. Now the burden is on ordinary people who must bail out the banks and the other well-heeled wealthy who were wined and dined until they dropped in the Galway tent.

I have no confidence in a Government that attacked pensioners, people with disabilities and students in the first instance. The economic principles that delivered the prosperity of the Celtic tiger under Fine Gael in the 1990s included keeping costs down through competition, high productivity, export-led growth, tight budgeting and strong regulation of the financial sector and housing market. This was abandoned by Fianna Fáil-led Governments since 1997 and they have much to answer for today. The wealth generating power of the private sector and the public service mission of the State were bent and broken by Fianna Fáil to serve the interests of a golden circle of banks, property developers, big shady businesses, senior public servants, regulators and some trade union bosses. There are many lessons to be learned and I hope the Government has learned its lesson. If not, the people will give the Government its answer. The people of this country will wipe out Fianna Fáil on 5 June in the local and European elections. After the next general election this House will be without three quarters of the Fianna Fáil membership it has today.

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