Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)

I beg the indulgence of the Ceann Comhairle for a moment. Since this is the first time I have spoken in the Chamber for several days I wish to acknowledge the passing of the former Labour Party Deputy for Louth, Michael Bell, who died last Friday. As Deputies will be aware, the late Michael Bell represented the constituency of Louth for 20 years from 1982 to 2002. I express my deepest sympathies to his family, supporters and to my constituents in Louth. I understand that arrangements will be made on a more formal basis to pay tribute to the late former Deputy Bell and I look forward to that opportunity.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance (No. 2) Bill. This is the most significant single step taken to date to deal with the unemployment catastrophe, one of a series of rotten legacies bequeathed to us by the last Administration. The provisions outlined in the Bill are not the panacea for all our ills but they represent a strong start for an Administration which, by any objective measure, has done more for jobs and economic confidence in two months than the worst Government in our short history managed to achieve in the previous two years.

We can look towards the future with a more positive attitude now. Such were the words of the Drogheda based hotelier Martin McGowan in the Drogheda Independent this week. He welcomed the slashing of VAT rates for hotels and other sectors of the economy, an element of the package announced this month which will have a significant positive impact on job creation and retention in an industry that has borne the brunt of the economic collapse.

The package of investment in jobs must be paid for and there are no easy options in this regard. The decision by the Government to propose to introduce a small, temporary levy on funded pension schemes has had its critics and I acknowledge some of the concerns expressed on this issue. However, I take issue fundamentally with the Eddie Hobbs of this world, who go relatively unchallenged on the airwaves of the nation when telling us how the sky will fall in as a result of this temporary and necessary measure. We are in a warlike situation. In periods of war or national emergency we are often required to do extraordinary things which may otherwise never have been countenanced. I prefer to view this small levy as an expression of social solidarity. Those out of work require the help of those working. An analogy could be drawn in the way the community rating system for private health insurance operates. That is a system to support or subsidise those who are ill and old or who require more serious and frequent health care interventions.

I refer to the capital element of the Bill. The Government will invest considerable sums in additional school works and in additional roads and transportation projects.

I have stated previously in the House and through the media and I will say it again, the State must ensure as a matter of urgency that the contractors who benefit from an injection of taxpayers' money remain, in so far as possible, within the State. There is an urgency to review the way in which public authorities in the State award public contracts. In my constituency and throughout the Border region, it is an all too common occurrence to witness substantial contracts from public authorities awarded to contractors from outside the jurisdiction. As a matter of urgency we must review this situation. We must be smarter, cannier and more intelligent in the way in which these situations are handled in the context of procurement requirements. I urge, understand and accept that it is outside the framework of this Bill, but the House and the State must address this fundamental matter in the coming months as a matter of urgency.

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