Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister's acknowledgment that we have lost competitiveness, but I must express dismay at his suggestion that the Government has no function in the area of prices set by the Government. Has he considered the competitiveness report, which shows that all of the non-pay business costs in control of the Government are in the "red light" danger area? Many of the most chronic cases, such as electricity, telephones, broadband, waste disposal and health insurance, are directly controlled by the Government. How does the Minister expect ordinary workers to accept that there is a need for making cuts in their pay, when he sits on his hands and claims that the Government has no role on key public sector prices that are way out of line with all of our European competitors? Surely the Minister sees the need for a competitiveness pact led by the Government addressing these issues and others such as boardroom pay, so that we can see that if sacrifice is to be made, it is made in a way that is fair.

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