Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am not scaremongering at all.

On public reform, Fine Gael and Labour have shown themselves to have misled the electorate on the issue. On 9 February the Minister, Deputy Quinn, said the Fine Gael proposals to cut 30,000 jobs public sector jobs would have a devastating impact on front line services. We have proposed reductions of 18,000, and Fine Gael demanded a further 12,000 and we have seen what it got. To put that in context, a reduction of 12,000 is the same as removing two teachers from every primary school plus one in every six nurses. Those are the Minister's words not mine. I cannot and will not commend this programme to the House.

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