Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I understand the Cabinet met this morning to decide how many capital projects to cut. Will the Taoiseach tell the House what these are? We know the Government will cut €750 million next year - that is 7,500 jobs. On Friday, the Government published its medium-term fiscal statement which promised four years of austerity, four years of cuts in public services and four years of higher taxes. What is most striking about all of this is that it confesses that at the end of that time there will still be nearly 500,000 people on the dole. De bharr pholasaithe an Rialtais cuirfear brú ar na mílte daoine Éire a fhágáil agus beidh maoin an Stáit, maoin gur leis an pobal é, díolta ag an Stát. I rith an gheimhridh seo chugainn, braithfidh fir, mná agus páistí an fuacht a bhaineann le polasaithe an Rialtais.

There is an alternative, there is a better way. Tá a fhios ag an Taoiseach go bhfuil slí eile agus bealach níos fearr ann. Why does the Government not take the €5 billion that remains in the National Pensions Reserve Fund and invest that in job creation? It should not give any more money to unguaranteed bondholders and toxic banks-----

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