Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

While I am the first to admit that I have no formal education in the area of finance, as a housewife and mother, I have learned the art of running a home and family on a budget and the cold, hard fact that one can only spend what one has in one's purse and not one penny more. The Government has spent the contents of many a household purse and makes no apology for doing so. Every man, woman and child must now pay the price for its reckless spending and greed.

A generation of people will have to leave home to work abroad because they cannot afford to stay. Our youngest and brightest will leave these shores and many will never return. Fear has become a familiar word, one I hear on the doorsteps of every street as people relate to me their fears for the future. They fear for their children and whether they can afford their education. They fear for their health and whether they can afford to pay medical expenses. They fear they will not be able to pay back bank loans. They fear old age and whether they will have any money to live on in the years ahead. Senior citizens are afraid they will not be able to pay their bills or keep themselves warm and that services, such as home help provision, which allow them to live independently will be removed. Above all, they are afraid the State pension will shortly be cut. Nobody deserves to live in fear, especially when he or she is not responsible for creating the problem.

Those who are guilty of creating the economic crisis have got away scot free. They have been allowed to go abroad, leaving behind their responsibilities and debts. They are enjoying holidays in the sun while their greed and dishonesty have left the country in a shambles. It is not fair that ordinary people have been left to clean up their mess and pay their bills. The reason people are so angry is they want fairness above all else.

As we face into budget 2011 this December, we know the economic outlook is very bleak. Members of the public want to know that we, their representatives in Dáil Éireann, are doing everything we can to improve the economy and lighten the burden on individuals and families who are struggling with bills and debt.

We all know the banking and economic policies pursued by the Government caused a major financial crisis. It is time to put in place a plan for recovery. People want to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. We need to give them hope but hope is in short supply from the Government benches. The billions of euro in expenditure cuts and tax increases we need to be found by 7 December must not come at the expense of low income families and those on social welfare. The budget must be fair and must protect those who are most vulnerable, namely, the old, sick, young and disabled and those who cannot find employment.

Demands on social welfare assistance are increasing by the day and the annual social welfare bill now stands at an unsustainable €21 billion. We need to address unemployment head on and create new opportunities for young people who are completing school or college and for older people who want to return to the workplace.

The number of people on the live register stands at approximately 450,000, which is a substantial figure. We must get people back into employment. The Government must give a commitment to attract investment and enterprise and support home-grown enterprise. Banks must also open their doors again to small businesses.

I take issue with the manner in which FÁS treats young apprentices who cannot complete their training and obtain the certification they require to move abroad.

The current crisis was summed up for me and my family at the weekend when my young grand-niece was taken as an emergency case to Tallaght hospital where she was resuscitated and placed on a ventilator. She could not be transferred to Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin because staff were not available there and had to be transferred to Temple Street Hospital where she has been in intensive care for the past five days. Diagnostic tests could not be analysed in the laboratory because staff were not available to do so over the bank holiday weekend, which means we still have not received any results. This is but one story arising from the crisis caused by the Government's poor management of the national finances.

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