John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I firmly believe it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Irish people to come through the coming few years of economic crisis without some form of common approach. We need some kind of consensus about how we are going to fix our economy. The Irish people have wearied of the blame game and are tired of bickering politicians who appear more interested in scoring points than addressing the significant problems faced by the Irish nation.

For more than a generation the Irish people have not been served by politics as usual. For a long time we have needed a new way of ordering our affairs. Now, as we face the biggest economic challenges in the State's history, we very urgently need to go beyond the short-term political party interests. We must identify common goals and frame a strategy to work towards them. As the leader of a smaller party which has fought an uphill struggle for three decades working in politics in this country, I know I am asking much when I say it but I am genuinely prepared to make common cause here.

Let us for a moment honestly identify a few simple facts. We have got into this position through fundamental errors which were made as far back as 1977 with the infamous give-away budget and election setting us on a course of auction politics, where politicians sought to outbid one another for voter support. It led us to accept bad planning as a fact of everyday life and in time we fell into a very poor system of financial regulation. It gave us endemic crony capitalism and the blurring of boundaries, which meant those in important jobs did not uphold the people's interest.

It is very sad to reflect now that we did not learn the lessons of the economic slump in the 1980s. That grim experience forced me, like tens of thousands of others, to leave this country to find work and should have taught us enough to put in place systems to ensure it would never happen again. We failed to learn one lesson from economic recession in the 1980s; the imperative to ensure it did not happen again. Are we now about to fail to learn an even more important lesson from that era? Are we about to repeat our failure to take tough, appropriate and timely action to deal with our problems? Are we about to relive the 1980s worst-of-all-worlds approach where we take half-hearted and belated measures which gave us lingering pain but no long-term remedy?

It is abundantly clear that we as politicians have also failed to take on board another more useful element from the 1980s experience. The noble stance adopted by the then Fine Gael leader, Alan Dukes, in 1987 was a once-off stab at consensus. He put aside short-term party interests so that the necessary tough policies could be implemented, although it was all too short-lived. In the macho world of Irish party politics, Alan Dukes's Tallaght strategy has all too often been derided as political weakness, and Fine Gael very recently acknowledged that the Tallaght strategy was good for the country but bad for Fine Gael. It must also be said that the other parties did not reciprocate Mr Dukes's generosity of vision and short-term political goals remained central to Irish politics for the following two decades. They must take their share of blame here.

Most of the political parties – I say this without a hint of rancour – were part of this system and part of this malaise which has brought us to where we are today. Most parties joined in the auction bidding that characterised and were central to the 2002 and 2007 general elections, as parties sought to buy the voters' support with various incentives and blandishments. I do not remember anyone warning of an impending economic crash in the property price spiral. I do not recall anyone raising a flag about poor and inadequate financial regulation. I do not have any memory of anyone calling for root and branch reform of our planning system. Like the Green Party, many Members were not part of a Government which made errors in handling this country's affairs. However, most parties joined in propagating and institutionalising politics as usual. Politics as usual played a significant role in getting us to where we are. Just this week, the main political parties in Portugal engaged in negotiations on a common budgetary approach. These talks are proving very difficult, but they are taking place and we could learn a lot from a country and people first approach.

After weeks of deliberation and many long meetings, the Government has decided we need to bring in measures totalling €15 billion over the next four years. We must do that to meet the 2014 target to cut the budget deficit to 3% as agreed with the European Union. We have considered the arguments for extending this timescale. If we in the Green Party thought there was a benefit for the Irish people in that idea, we would have backed it, but we honestly and sincerely do not believe it is the correct thing to do. We believe it would replicate the 1980s experience, making the recession last much longer than it needs to.

I acknowledge the honesty that led Fine Gael and the Labour Party to agree the target and timescale to reduce the deficit. I further acknowledge their courage in maintaining that commitment despite recent calls for a change. However, I am determined that this is not enough. It is not enough to say that we must achieve that target without agreeing a basic roadmap to take us there. The figure of €15 billion is double the one set out in last year's budget but it will maintain the confidence of our EU partners and lenders on international money markets. This confidence is vital to our short-term and longer-term prosperity and it is crucial to our efforts to protect and reassert our independence.

The main reasons for this significant increase are the reality of lower economic growth prospects at home and abroad and the higher costs of paying interest on our debt. The Government must bring the deficit down to 3% of economic output by 2014 to come back in line with EU rules. I welcome the fact that the EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, will be in Dublin early next month to discuss the four-year budgetary framework plan with the Opposition and the social partners. The Government intends to publish formally the four-year plan shortly after that.

The spending cuts and revenue raising measures needed will impact on peoples' living standards, but it is a matter of conviction for me that it is neither credible nor realistic to delay these measures. We must restore and maintain confidence in our ability to meet our obligations and responsibilities. We cannot repeat the experience of the 1980s and delay a return to sustainable growth and full employment in our economy. It is true that a significant front-loading of the €15 billion correction will be needed next year. We will continue to work with our Government partners in producing detailed plans which will be published in the middle of next month. We in the Green Party are working with two main imperatives in mind. First, there must be a balance in the measures to ensure that the economy is not unduly impaired in the medium to longer term. Second, spending cuts and revenue raising must be fair and impact most on those best able to bear the strain.

There is no denying the difficult choices have to be made, but the job of everybody in the House now is to get a budget that works and that gets Ireland out of the economic difficulties that it is in. The Green Party in Government has managed to protect a number of key areas from the deepest spending cuts. We have reversed the education cuts, a key feature in the programme for Government and the reason that so many in my party endorsed it.

We protected actions taken to combat homelessness. In fact, we ensured extra spending in this area. Protecting the most vulnerable at home and abroad has to be priority and that is why the Green Party, as part of this Government, has protected overseas development aid. We have also recognised that the creativity of the Irish people is undoubtedly our greatest asset and that is why we have protected the arts. This is an investment that leads to sustainable growth, particularly when linked to tourism opportunities.

Our job is to get us out of this crisis and plan for the recovery which will be green. That is why we are protecting investments in modern public transport and environmental infrastructure. This is what we have done thus far and we intend to stick to this path. As I have said, I realise only too well that the adjustment required is painful and indeed may seem right now to be overwhelming. I am also aware of the difficulties of persuading people of its necessity when trust in the political system has broken down. That trust has to be restored. It can only be done through fundamental change to business of politics.

We cannot and we will not tolerate the status quo. We need to see changes to ministerial transport, the salaries and expenses of Deputies and Senators and the working times and productivity of the Oireachtas. Members of the public are also justifiably angry about what they perceive as the inequality of treatment for white collar criminals in this country. My party has always said that this is intolerable and the Government needs to show purpose in this regard.

No Government Department will be immune from cutbacks and other changes, but in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government over the past two years of major challenge, we have maintained a strategic focus on supporting economic recovery and assisting those in need of support. Focus has been kept on sustainable economic development. As a party which has a fair proportion of people who run their own businesses, we understand the need to keep the rates base low for those in business and the Government has done this. The Taoiseach has convened meetings on the issue and we understand the need to continue with the policy because many people in small businesses are feeling the strain.

My Department is now finalising proposals to give effect to the commitment in the renewed programme for Government to introduce charges for water services. We intend doing this in a way that is fair, significantly reduces waste and is easily applied. The installation of water meters in households connected to public supplies will encourage householders to conserve water and will result in savings in the significant operational costs faced by local authorities in providing water and waste water services. It will also complement the significant increases in investment on water conservation measures in the water services investment programme 2010-12 which I announced earlier this year. I am proud to say that, even in these straitened times, this programme brings a fivefold increase in funding for conservation measures to €320 million.

The roll-out of meters to more than one million homes around the country will require significant resources and I will be analysing the various options to ensure the delivery of the metering programme in the most cost-effective manner. A number of funding options are being considered and the achievement of value for money will be a key factor in determining the approach to be taken. The programme will also provide a very significant job creation opportunity in the construction sector. It is estimated that every €1 million euro per year spent on installing water meters will provide employment for a minimum of ten people. The metering programme will take a number of years to complete, but every effort will be made to complete it in as short a time as possible. My aim is to ensure that, once meter installation commences next year, we will have a significant proportion of the programme completed in two to three years.

Also regarding water services, we have made available over €1.5 billion since 2008 and with this investment much has been achieved. In 2009, for example, we saw completion of 40 major water and wastewater schemes, with 108 other major schemes under way at year's end. In the period 2000 to 2009, we added the equivalent of over 1 million population to the capacity of water treatment systems and the equivalent of 3.7 million population in wastewater treatment capacity. This high level of expenditure reflects our commitment to protecting our water resources, meeting EU standards and putting critical infrastructure in place to support development and jobs.

In the housing area, we have made available a budget of over €4 billion since 2008 to spend on a range of measures. This reflects the high importance the Government attaches, in difficult times, to the provision of social housing and meeting the needs of homeless people and other vulnerable groups requiring housing support. Our strategy has been to maintain output through more flexible approaches, and to prioritise the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. We are shifting away from new build projects and towards initiatives such as leasing and the rental accommodation scheme. Available capital funding is increasingly targeted at special needs housing and improving the environmental performance of our housing stock.

We have also maintained a high level of ambition for local authority regeneration and improvement works in some of the most disadvantaged and neglected areas of the country, aimed at helping to replace failed estates with vibrant, sustainable communities. Nearly €200 million is being provided for this purpose in 2010 alone. Major improvement in recycling performance can be seen in the fact that the latest available statistics, for 2008, show the municipal waste recovery rate at 37.5%, 65% of our packaging waste is being recycled and 9 kg per capita of household electrical and electronic waste is being collected. All of these figures exceed European and national requirements.

My Department has also introduced a range of policy measures to help better target Exchequer investment and facilitate economic recovery. The national spatial strategy update and outlook sets out a revised implementation framework aimed at maximising the spatial planning and regional contribution to economic recovery, long-term national competitiveness and sustainability. A key element in the Planning Act 2010 is the introduction of a requirement for an evidence-based core strategy in development plans. The location, quantum and phasing of proposed development must be shown as well as growth scenarios, details of transport plans, retail development and policies regarding development in rural areas. This requirement will help target scarce Exchequer resources on sustainable economic development. We introduced this legislation to ensure we will never go back to those dark days of overzoning and ensure that we learn from the severe lessons of the past.

The multi-agency local government-led county development boards, CDBs, have established economic development sub-committees made up of representatives from FÁS, Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and local business interests including chambers of commerce, to develop and co-ordinate economic plans and strategies for their areas. When required, they also act as the local-based inter-agency task force constituted in response to significant issues in the area and to provide a focal point for economic promotion of the county. I have agreed that these sub-committee will also operate as a business users forum in each county and city.

The CDBs also work closely with business support units or similar arrangements which have been put in place in all county and city councils at my instigation to act as a point of contact to ensure quick co-ordinated responses to businesses from local authorities in areas such as planning, water and roads. In this way, business interests will have the opportunity to discuss issues with a range of relevant bodies including the local authorities. The units provide assistance to individuals and businesses seeking advice and direction on business start-up and expansion and signpost them to the most appropriate organisations to ensure they get the necessary support.

Despite the very obvious difficulties, there have been significant achievements in recent years and these should be acknowledged. They give us confidence that even with the challenges we now face we can meet the objectives we have set. Ultimately, this work will also help set the country on the path to long-term sustainable growth but in the immediate term we have to face the challenges of completing the four-year programme and the budget for 2011. We in this House need to make common cause in facing these challenges. Unfortunately, to judge by some of the debate so far, it is adversarial politics as usual and sometimes these debates can produce more heat than light.

In this time of crisis we need to move beyond business as usual politics. We are far more likely to beat this recession earlier and better with some form of cross-party approach in the actions we must take. I have not given up hope of getting something moving in this direction. I state to the parties opposite in all sincerity that huge changes will be made in the coming years. They may well be in government and find the choices they have to make are extremely unpalatable. They may and will argue that they are in the national interest but if we have politics as usual those challenges will be extreme and it will be extremely difficult to implement. This is why I continue to ask for some form of consensual approach.

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