Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

It is not perfect but the Deputy misses the point completely, a bit like Sinn Féin during the royal visit last week. It has missed the mood and is opposing for the sake of it.

This initiative requires bravery from the Government, something it has displayed. We have not abandoned the principles of responsibility or the interests of the Irish people. How can someone criticise a Government that introduces a research and development tax credit, suspends the air travel tax, changes the VAT and employers' PRSI rates, restores the minimum wage and introduces a pension levy?

We must pay to create jobs; there are no easy solutions. The economists, the experts, the commentators and the Opposition all agree there is no pot of gold, no magic wand to wave or silver bullet. That is why the duty of Government is to be responsible and to act on behalf of all of our citizens. In just ten weeks, this Government has been strategic and displayed vision. It is acting. We might not agree with everything, we might want to see more money spent but if we compare the first ten weeks of this Government with the last ten years of the previous Administration, there is a stark difference. That is why it is important to look to the future and to this Bill to offer a new opportunity.

I tweeted when the Bill was introduced that it was not ideal but that it was a new beginning, a significant step that would instil confidence in employers and give hope to those seeking employment, while providing leadership and showing those in the outside world that we are once again in control of our finances, albeit with the help of the IMF and the EU.

If Deputy Ellis wants to be critical of the Bill, fair enough but let us look at what is in it for schools, roads and retrofitting schemes. Is it wrong to help small and medium-sized enterprises and to offer hope to people? Is it wrong to tell schools we will expand the building programme and look at new public private partnerships? All of us have received letters and e-mails from parent associations, boards of management and school principals about conditions in schools. Measures to address those conditions are contained in this Bill.

There is an extra €60 million for investment in local roads. Will those opposite vote against that? I hope not. This is about investment in infrastructure, a gateway to creating jobs. Are we telling people in Cork the N28 cannot be upgraded, or that the main road from here to Wicklow cannot be improved because we do not have the money? The Government is going to invest an extra €60 million in roads and while that is not ideal, if we take the Bandon Road and Sarsfield Road flyovers in Cork, those are included in this to provide relief and improve a road network that shows a confident, mature nation ready to embrace employers and entrepreneurs and to open our markets.

That is why it is important to look at this Bill holistically. The Taoiseach was right this morning that our country needed help. We did not go voluntarily to the IMF and ECB. Those in Government 12 months ago were in denial about that but we had to go there, we had no choice, we could not go to the open markets.

We must never forget the narrative of why we are here. It was as a result of poor management by the previous Government, bad economic decisions and a lack of political accountability. There was a breakdown in regulation and a cosy cartel that ran this country for a decade was allowed to develop. Those who were in Government lost the run of themselves and their cronies were part of the inner circle, ensuring no one cried "Halt". It is important that narrative is never forgotten by anyone. We have a duty to remind the people and, more importantly, the Fianna Fáil Members of this House, why we are in this situation. Our people are living in places such as Toronto or Boston or Brisbane and there are those who are still at home seeking work. As Deputy Mathews said, there are those at home who cannot afford to go away due to their debts or family situation. The story is that of a people under pressure, of people struggling. I refer to the euphoria of last Monday and the past week with the visits of President Obama and the Queen. The visits lifted the Irish people. I noted as I walked from College Green among hundreds of ordinary citizens the sense of hope and of a new beginning, a sense that together we can get out of this morass. It will not be easy and the job of government is to lead, to be responsible and to tell the Irish people the truth. A government can never be allowed to abandon its people as happened during the past ten years. The previous Government ignored its responsibility, a responsibility that goes with accepting the seal of office entrusted to it under the Constitution by the President of Ireland. This is what the previous Government did; it abandoned the people and ignored the sacred trust. Its members did not live up to their seals of office and the responsibility attached. Likewise, people in banks and in financial regulation have serious questions to answer. There must be accountability and this must happen under this Government's watch.

Deputy Mathews in his contribution spoke about a monstrous debt and he is right. People have a monstrous debt and our country has a gargantuan debt. However, the ordinary citizen has to deal with high unemployment, emigration, negative equity and which are the legacies of ten years of boom and bloom. This Government has presented the Finance (No. 2) Bill which offers solutions and a plan. This is not a plan for the big shots or for the rich and powerful but for those who are courageous in creating employment and for those on the lower minimum wage. This Government is saying to them that it understands and is listening. I become nauseated when I hear people in certain parts of this House say they are concerned about those who are unemployed or in negative equity. I said it before in this House and I say it again, everyone on the Government side of the House knows of family members, friends and constituents who are in negative equity, who are unemployed and who are under pressure. They ask us to provide a solution and to give them an opportunity to go back to work. They want to be able to remain in their family home and they ask for a chance to start a business or to buy their own home. This is why it is important that the Minister, Deputy Noonan, has taken on the banks and has created a new banking force. Our banks must listen and they must be cognisant of the ordinary person. Equally, the Revenue Commissioners must stand up and listen and must be aware of the plight of business people and of the ordinary citizen.

It is unfortunate that a two-tier Ireland seems to be developing, private versus public, with an upper, middle and lower class. I regret this because the people I choose to represent and the people who put me in here are not the high flyers nor the socialites who were drinking in the Galway tent, who owned three or four houses and two or three big cars. They were the people who bought property - one property - at the height of the boom, who had a job and who were earning €50,000 or €60,000 a year, whose spouses also had to go out to work. They were paying for child care. These are the people who are in negative equity today and who are struggling. I use "struggling" deliberately because that is the plight of many citizens today. The job of government is to create a new State, a new opportunity and a new vision.

The Government, the IMF, the ECB, the banks and Revenue must listen to the distress of the ordinary person, the man and woman whom we all know. I do not mean the developers, the people sitting on the boards of banks, the economic commentators who knew everything, nor the political commentators. They must listen to people. This Government must create hope.

I have met many people over the past 12 to 18 months who are distressed. I met a man two weeks ago when he came to my office. He was afraid to go home. He was afraid to tell his partner that he owed money to the banks and to Revenue. He was employing five or six people and he could not go home and tell all this to his partner. This is not acceptable and it is not the Ireland I want to live in.

The Government has an obligation to protect the family home and it must encourage people to enter into a covenant and agreement with the banks or lending institutions. I agree with Deputy Mathews that the people who lend us money must understand the story of the Irish people. As the Taoiseach said this morning, we will pay our debt but I contend this cannot be at the expense of our people. I agree that we live in the European Union which is a community of sovereign nations. My understanding of being part of the European Union is that we are here to support one another and to live and to work for a common goal. Those who are assisting us should listen to the cry of the Irish people. The Taoiseach is correct in that we will honour our debts, we will repay them, but it behoves those in control of the IMF and the European Union to listen, to come out of their ivory towers and to interact with the ordinary citizens of this country to see how they are getting on.

I am very pleased that the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and the Government have within the first 100 days brought forward a jobs initiative. Deputy Dessie Ellis is correct that the biggest task facing us is the creation of jobs and the retention of existing jobs. We must reward entrepreneurs and risk-takers who employ people. Equally, contained in the jobs initiative is an acceptance that those who want to work should be allowed to work. It is much better to have people working than on welfare. Is it right to keep the minimum wage at the level introduced by Fianna Fáil? Should we allow people to go on welfare? It is much better to have people in work and to place a value on work so they can make a contribution to society and can be proud, active citizens.

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