Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

Professor McCarthy is also likely to recommend the sale of Coillte in whole or in part. Despite the programme's commitment to merge Coillte and Bord na Móna, the 7% of the State's land under the control of Coillte is by no means safe. There is much in the report that also highlights the departure from pre-election promises, particularly on the part on the Labour Party. There is much flowery rhetoric about education, for example. That is all well and good but there is no commitment to reverse the huge cuts in third level grants that will force thousands of students out of college and on to the dole queues or emigration.

The Labour Party has also compromised on the area of public sector redundancies which will amount to 25,000 by 2015. Each person made unemployed will cost the State at least €20,000 as well as the ancillary benefits, and nor is there any longer a commitment to these redundancies being voluntary. The reality is that in order to achieve the target, the Government will have to sack people.

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