Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

I welcome Deputy Peter Mathews' sentiments on the European Union. I hope matters turn out as he described, as it would be wonderful if the European Union saw sense and started to treat us fairly.

Too often Members on this side of the House are accused of being negative about everything. I like to believe we honestly say what we feel. If what we tell the coalition is sometimes negative, that is unfortunate. I agree that the jobs initiative contains some good provisions. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, was honest when he stated it was a modest measure and a start. It is a small monetary investment in the economy, a principle in which I believe. The philosophy of John Maynard Keynes took the world out of recession in the 1930s and is preferable to Milton Friedman's, of which we have seen too much in the past 30 years.

It would be great if we had more money to invest in this fashion. For example, we are to repair 800 km of roadway. The Minister without Portfolio, Deputy Brendan Howlin, mentioned how bad the roads seemed to be during the election campaign in County Wexford, an issue about which I also know. The roads are atrocious, but I did not promise anyone that I would fix them. As Deputies can imagine, 800 km is not much. In County Wexford alone there are 3,200 km of non-national roads. While fixing 800 km nationwide is a start, I hope there will be more of this work. Likewise, the money to be spent on school infrastructure is welcome, not only for the kids in leaky prefabs but also for a small section of the construction industry which is labour intensive. I know from experience that construction workers are inclined to spend money. They will stimulate the economy if we can find them enough work.

The VAT and PRSI measures will be welcomed by the hotel and restaurant industries, in particular. I have the good fortune to run five wine bars-restaurants and these measures will make a sizable difference to us in managing our businesses. Our industry has been struggling with difficulties. I employ more than 50 people and these measures will help me to stop shedding jobs. Whether they will create more is difficult to say. More people must spend money in our restaurants, but they cannot do so because they have none. If the banks start lending again, it will be a significant step in the right direction. Since September 2008 we have believed we can throw money at the banks and that they will eventually start lending with it, but the Government must play an active role in ensuring they are open for business. This would make a significant difference. I am surprised and disappointed, therefore, that the strategic investment bank has not been mentioned in the jobs initiative. Perhaps the Government is bringing it on stream, as something of that nature would be of considerable help.

The most disappointing element of the programme is the picking on pension schemes to come up with money. It does not grow on trees and must come from somewhere, but it is unfortunate that many of the people who made sacrifices during the years to save for pensions are to be treated unfairly. As Deputy Shane Ross stated yesterday, it is as if we are robbing them for their savings. It is not right. The Government might ask where we would get the money from if we did not take it from such schemes. As Deputy John Halligan pointed out yesterday, foreign companies operating in Ireland are making annual profits of €32 billion. While we do not want to frighten them away, since we appreciate how much work they provide and how important they are to the country, large global companies must make a fair contribution to our society, given how well they are doing out of it. It would be terrible to see Ireland go to the wall in order that these companies could keep their large profits. It would be great if the Government sought money from that source.

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