Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I know, but the Deputy is not a friend. Gabh mo leithscéal. I note the Deputy's presence. He may be interested to know what his party committed to. Its election manifesto states:

Labour is committed to [the] concept of public enterprise, and is determined to ensure that semi-state companies play a full role in the recovery of the Irish economy. Labour is opposed to short-termist privatisation of key state assets, such as Coillte or the energy networks.

It is amazing. That is what the party got a mandate to do, yet it is doing the opposite. Looking at the examples of Eircom and the destruction of the Irish sugar industry, we can see the effect of such an approach.

Presumably that was the motivation for the Labour Party's manifesto commitment and its reference to "short-termist privatisation".

It is a scandal that the Irish people do not have the right to make their own decisions about how to handle this crisis. Instead, our economic sovereignty has been handed over to the EU and the IMF. This Government did not negotiate that deal, but it is faithfully implementing it. It is adhering to the so-called austerity policy which serves to deepen the recession and has victimised citizens on low and middle incomes. One can see the effects of that in the numbers of patients on trolleys, chairs and even on the floors of accident and emergency departments. One can see the outcome in our classrooms where children are deprived of special needs assistants. One can see the consequences in our airports where thousands of young people are fleeing the country. The result of mounting job losses was clear in the attendance at Ireland's rugby games at the World Cup in New Zealand. Yet Fine Gael and the Labour Party plough ahead with their sleveen policies of recapitalising toxic banks and slashing public spending. On 2 November the Government will give €7 million to the toxic institution formerly known as Anglo Irish Bank.

Now we are presented with a plan to sell off State assets. The programme for Government contained a commitment to target up to €2 billion in sales of what were described as non-strategic State assets. However, the EU and the IMF are now demanding that this be increased to €5 billion in order to pay the debts of private bankers and speculators. It is beyond comprehension that the Government is claiming that praise from the troika for its efforts is an achievement in itself.

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