Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

People pay taxes with the expectation that they will receive basic social protections, health care and education for their families and other standard services. The Minister has been a champion of all of these throughout his political life. If, however, the public sector does not have adequate numbers to deliver services, then we are facing into a very real and protracted crisis.

This Government has alternatives available to it in the context of addressing the Exchequer deficit. In that context, why not secure a write-down of the capital payment of the promissory note relating to the former Anglo Irish Bank, which will cost €30 billion plus the additional cost of borrowing the capital? Why not tackle the State's soaring levels of structural unemployment through a capital stimulus investment programme funded by the National Pensions Reserve Fund and the European Investment Bank? Why not complete the regeneration projects in Limerick and Dublin? Why not properly kick-start the wind power industry across the island by working with commercial semi-State management and leveraging State assets? Why not provide the necessary capital investment to roll out next generation broadband, taking Ireland to the top of the broadband league? Why not increase our competitiveness and, critically, our attractiveness in the context of the creation of further high-tech jobs? These are just a few examples of what could and should be done.

It is most disappointing to be obliged to note - the sense of disappointment in this regard is greatest among all of those who bought into the promises made by the Minister's party and Fine Gael just over 12 months ago - that the Government, like Fianna Fáil before it, continues to trot out the same failed proposals that have done such a disservice to ordinary citizens throughout both our domestically created crisis and the world economic crisis. Quite frankly, those citizens deserve better.

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