Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)

I advise the Deputy opposite that the reaction of everybody on the Government benches to this measure was that it was something we needed to review immediately and we have come to the right conclusion. The Deputy should commend us on that.

This is the first budget on which I have contributed and I wish I had been here in better times. I would like to state the position of the country, the strengths of the budget, the commitments made by the Government in the programme for Government and my view on where the future lies for this country within our own economy and within the eurozone.

The position of the country is stark. We borrow €375 million a week to pay the Members of the this House, teachers, gardaí, social welfare recipients and everybody else. That money filters down into small businesses and it contributes to making the society in which we live. Some people have advocated that we should go elsewhere and stop borrowing money from the ECB. Viewing this realistically, we would not strip €3.8 billion out of the economy but would take the whole chunk of the deficit, nearly €20 billion, out of the economy. I appeal to people to recognise that.

We all have an obligation to communicate to all the people who voted for us that we are facing the gravest time on the Continent since World War II. When we hear the German Chancellor saying that, we should sit up and listen. We have the highest personal debt ratio of any country in Europe and when we have junk bond status as well, we are in a pretty dire situation. Trying to get out of it is very difficult, but we put our hand up over here and said we were willing to go into government, take the heavy load, take the bull by the horns and do what has to be done.

There are many good measures in the budget. I am particularly glad of the mortgage interest relief measure because I come from a generation that is generation jinxed. I am one of the people who pay more than 50% of my wages, even though we are paid very well in here, towards my mortgage, and I have many friends who are in the same position.

This is a good budget for farming and tourism. My acronym for recovery for my area in Kerry is TEAM. It is a mind set whereby we bring everybody into the trenches with us and we do what we can to make the country better. T stands for tourism and we have made great inroads in that sector. With the introduction of the 9% VAT rate, matters are improving in Killarney, Tralee and Listowel. The country received enormous coverage with the visits of the Queen of England and the American President, and value from that coverage is being created again. There are a few benefits in the budget for the energy sector, including that VAT can be reclaimed in respect of turbines. Our product can only go forward and it has growth potential. In terms of agribusiness, we all know how good our product is and the Minister is doing a fine job on developing it. With regard to micro-enterprise, research and development grants and compensation measures are available. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, on his hard work and the foresight he has shown on this. I ask the Ceann Comhairle to note that I will be in possession when the debate on the financial resolution next resumes.

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