Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

-----and there is no assistance from banks to allow them continue and do their business.

How can this party, any other party or even the Government decide to put forward its plan for the 2011 budget if it does not know the figure and the target or what are to be the scale of cuts? I ask the question again Taoiseach. Is the figure €3 billion, €3.5 billion or €4 billion because this party, for its part, will present our view of what the strategy should be, as we did previously, where jobs and growth were central to what we had to say? On each occasion in the past three years that we put forward sensible, practical, costed proposals, they were rejected out of hand by the Government.

I would like to hear from the Taoiseach, after consideration by the Cabinet and all the people on the opposite side of the House, the figure for 2011. We need to know if it is €3 billion, €3.5 billion, €4 billion or more so that, for our part, as one party, we can engage with officials from the Department of Finance or whatever to put forward our view of an alternative to provide jobs and growth and point a pathway to restoring our country's good fortunes.

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