P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

We have now had four budgets in less than nine months, as many as the Minister for Finance's predecessor had in four years. At around this time last year, Deputy Brian Lenihan had the misfortune to become the Minister for Finance, as he claimed himself. We had his first step last August, then some premature efforts in October last, followed by the pension levy and now this "hole in the bucket" budget. The Government might claim this is a worldwide problem, but no other Minister for Finance has needed to present four budgets in nine months.

In my speech to last October's budget, I quoted Winston Churchill, who said: "We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle". Every person knows that, after the Government reduces their incomes in this budget, they will need to cut their expenditure to match their incomes, particularly those in receipt of social welfare payments. Last weekend in Bantry, a small business man told me that if his sales go down, he does not increase his prices. Instead, he tries to cut his costs. What the Government attempted in this budget did not do that.

The Minister for Finance claimed that his budget was based on six essential steps. He stated that he wanted to stabilise our public finances. He has made four attempts and has only succeeded in increasing the debt placed on every man, woman, child and grandchild. He stated that we must restore our damaged banking system, but giving it more money will not be a cure. The taxpayer needed to bail AIB out of its ICI difficulties at a cost of £400 million or nearly €500 million. The AIB DIRT tax settlement was £90 million while that for Bank of Ireland was £30.5 million. In the Faldor scandal, AIB executives were fined over €320,000 by the Revenue Commissioners. What of the losses racked up by John Rusnak of almost $700 million for AIB, nearly 20% of the amount that we, the taxpayers, have invested in AIB? Does the Government remember AIB's scandalous overcharging of €34.2 million on foreign exchange transactions and €8.6 million on every other type of account? AIB settled a £1 million overdraft with the late Mr. Haughey in mysterious circumstances. In 2004, the chief executive of Bank of Ireland resigned overnight.

I was not surprised when, on researching this subject, I read, not from the last century but from the one before, that in 1885, the Munster Bank failed due to mismanagement and fraud and was liquidated. Out of the ashes, the Munster and Leinster Bank commenced operations. Eventually, it became the largest of the three banks.

The Minister for Finance placed €1,651 of capital investment in AIB and Bank of Ireland on behalf of every man, woman and child. In his budget, he proposed to underwrite a further €90 billion of developers' debt to secure these banks. How much more does he intend to put into this bucket full of holes while cancelling the Christmas bonus to old age pensioners, on which the Deputies opposite must vote tomorrow?

I propose that the boards of the banks might, as a gesture of contrition and gratitude for the €100 billion that the taxpayer has put up to bail them out of their mess, sponsor the Christmas bonus. I call on those appointed by the Minister for Finance to table such a motion at board level.

The Minister also stated that he wanted to protect jobs by investing €50 million per year over two years. This is the cost of approximately 2,400 unemployed people, approximately the same number of people who have lost their jobs in the past two weeks. Will this tiny effort be targeted at, for example, the unemployed turf accountants? In the Minster's efforts to support and stimulate economic confidence, he proposed assistance to second-hand car dealers with their tax liability. Arthur Daly, that infamous car dealer, would be proud of him.

What did the budget do to stimulate economic growth? Did it do anything to stimulate employment or promote tourism or agriculture? Did it do anything for those on social welfare? The agricultural community suffered a 17% reduction in the REPS 4 scheme, an 8% reduction in forestry premiums and the abandonment of the fallen animal and farm retirement schemes and the farm installation grant. Did the budget do anything for the people of west County Cork?

The Government has been found out and the people know what it did to them. They are going to do the same to it. I do not see a soft landing for those on the Government benches. Their days are numbered, unlike their management of the public finances.

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