Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. It is clear that both sides of the House have reached a consensus that we are in a difficult situation with limited wriggle room. I pay tribute to Opposition Members who are prepared to leave politics to one side and put their shoulder to the wheel to reach agreement on addressing our problems. We owe that to the people we represent. We must develop a coherent policy framework and, even if we do not agree on the specific elements, we will go a long way towards giving confidence to the markets and to those from whom we seek to borrow if we can agree on the broad principles.

I agree with the previous speaker on the necessity to deal with the banks in concise and clear language. There is too much mumbo jumbo in circulation and Government Deputies owe the people an admission that mistakes were made in the past. However, we must also recognise the nature of the advice that was available to us at the time. We cannot dwell in the past or continue to flog ourselves for mistakes that were made in good faith.

We must work together to develop policies that will get us out of our mess. Deputy Connaughton spoke about the projections on which we must base a four year strategy that will give confidence on the market. Clearly projections can be wrong on occasion. The growth levels predicted for this year have not held up but the projections behind them were not picked out of the air to suit the Minister for Finance. They were based on international trends and expected growth in European economies. The global economy has not recovered to the extent we hoped. We should not blame politicians for getting economic forecasts wrong. Forecasts are scientific and are based on certain facts and assumptions.

While our current difficulties are often explained in economic terms, the biggest impact on many of our citizens and their families is the loss of employment. I agree with Deputy Connaughton that the most vulnerable elements of our society are families in which both breadwinners are unemployed. Their lifestyle was supported by single or double incomes and often they owed significant amounts on mortgages and loans. I hope specific measures are introduced in the budget to deal with these families. While those who are on social welfare are certainly in difficult circumstances, many have built lifestyles around their incomes, meagre as they may be, and have been able to support themselves. A similar argument may be made in respect of pensions. If an individual knows how much his or her pension will be, a change of 3% or 4% will not be the end of the world. However, the loss of a significant income can create a crisis for a family. The burden is on the Minister to introduce measures to support such people.

We must create a framework for job creation. I pay tribute to the tremendous efforts of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the county enterprise boards, local authorities and the Leader companies in this regard. Improved competitiveness is contributing to job creation, particularly in the export sector, but we must introduce additional measures to get people back to work. Deputy Joe Carey and I have witnessed significant job losses in the Shannon region in recent weeks and we want to see measures that give fresh opportunities to the hardworking people who have lost their jobs.

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