Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

Where is his apology to the Irish people for the mess he has created? We have to break that cosy consensus. It is inevitable people will have to get used to a radical reduction in incomes over the course of the next year or so as a result of whatever corrective action the Government takes. I hope the Government gives the information to the House as soon as possible about the proposed adjustment for next year. If we are asking people to live on less money we need a radical policy of reducing prices right across this economy. If there is one area where the Government can do more, it is with regard to the commercial semi-state sector, most of whom are monopolies, who pay very little annual dividends to the State and as we see from recent discussions between the regulator and ESB, some of the price hikes are justifiable, based on increases in salaries within that sector. This is not good enough. If we are asking people to live on less, we need a radical reduction in prices. The one area where we have to take strong action is in the commercial semi-state sector. This sector is in a very privileged position. Its employees are, effectively, public sector employees, but they have not taken any of the burdens so far. It seems to me that if we are serious about this corrective action, a radical crisis policy must be kept in sharp focus.

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