Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I am thankful for the opportunity to say a few words on this very important budget.

People were calling in recent months for tough measures to be taken and an enormous range of options were discussed in terms of what might happen. People were softened up, perhaps, for what was read out here in the Dáil yesterday. We can, at least, welcome the fact that the carer's allowance is untouched and indeed one could list many things that were not touched. When one looks at it in depth, however, the biggest issue in yesterday's budget was what it purported to do as regards the banks. As the months and years go by, realisation will set in that we have actually agreed that some €80 billion of taxpayers' money can be called upon at some time in the future to deal with those banks that have given such a bad service to the people of Ireland. The public do not even understand the implications of this major development. While we all know that people need a banking system that works, the worry and fear among the public is enormous.

The ordinary man and woman in the street cannot understand how this Government allowed the banks to do what they did over the recent years, as regards developers, builders and whatever. I challenge the Government to say to the Irish people before moving forward with this programme that it is sorry for allowing this to happen. That would be a start, just to have the courage to say this. During the budget debate yesterday we were all talking about fairness. There was a chapter in the Budget Statement about fairness and the need to explain things to people. If the Government were to apologise, it would win support and public perception of what it is doing could be much better understood - because what it has done is very serious. It has mortgaged the future of generations to come.

In my constituency, as in all others, jobs have been lost in their hundreds of thousands over a number of months. What was in the budget to do something about the costs base? Some months ago in my constituency it emerged that insulation could be manufactured in France at 70% of the cost it could be in Ireland. The company concerned closed and put 70 or 80 topclass workers out of work, because of its cost base. Businesses must pay high prices for electricity and gas as well as having to face a plethora of other costs. If the Government was really serious yesterday about doing something for job creation, then it would have sought to force down costs for businesses and allow job creation in the country. It failed to do this and that is why I am very disappointed at what happened in yesterday's budget.

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