Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Is it the case that this proposal does not apply to the current year if March is the critical month of action? Has the information for budget 2011 been provided? Will there be a continual feed of information between March and the presentation of the budget to the democratically elected Members representing the people of this State?

The Taoiseach mentioned the Stability and Growth Pact. Does he accept that during the boom years the pact, which compels member states to operate within a 3% budget deficit, was routinely ignored by many of the larger member states and this State was presented by many as an example of best practice, as a succession of governments adhered to the pact's requirement regarding budget deficits? However, the budget deficit is now of the order of 12.8% of GDP and the Government is promising Brussels we will return to the pact's requirement by 2013. Is that not cutting the expectation too fine? The year, 2013, is a short distance around the corner and the reality is in trying to meet such a target date, the Government has had to impose severe cuts in public services resulting in job losses across a range of sectors and a failure to recruit essential front-line staff because of the embargo in situ. The measures employed to reach the target are hurting people on a daily basis. Would it not have been better to have set a more realistic target and spread the pain over a longer time, thereby lessening the pain and reducing the impact on people's lives? Would that not have been a better approach rather than setting a problematic target, which is causing enormous difficulties and will continue to do so over the period ahead?

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