Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Stop muttering. If the shoe was on the other foot, I know exactly the response we would have got. We supported the objectives of the Government to get the deficit down. Both the Labour Party and Fine Gael produced detailed pre-budget proposals. The Taoiseach chose not to run with them, but he should not come back and say that we have not produced constructive proposals, because we have.

His problem with the public finances is that since he became Taoiseach, the size of the deficit has increased by €7 million every day due to the loss of employment. Every job that is lost is costing around €20,000. Jobs have been lost on his watch at the rate of 340 per day. He can do the sums himself. If people are out of work, there is less money in taxes coming into the Government. If people are out of work, they are not spending and sales taxes are down. That is why the Government has a problem with the public finances. The Government's policies have failed to get the real economy moving again, to get businesses up and running again and to get people back into employment. How much longer do people have to tolerate the Taoiseach, the Government and the misery that they are inflicting on those who are losing their jobs and suffering as a result of the collapse under his watch?

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