Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The people in this country must recognise that there are no easy options. The country continues to be in a precarious situation. At the best of times, it was a difficult situation while at the worst of times, we could have fallen over the cliff. We are very lucky to have political parties in this country that were prepared to take responsibility for running the country at this difficult time. On taking office, this Government inherited all of the bills, both private and public but both parties in Government accepted the challenge. In other European countries, parties offering for Government in a similar climate have failed and continue to fail.

As I pointed out last night, there has not been a single indication from anybody on the other side of this House that he or she intends to do anything other than spend the public's money. The Opposition wants to spend money that the public will eventually be accountable for, in terms of repayments. It wants to spend money that does not exist even though this country is €1.2 billion short of meeting its commitments every month. That is a stark and startling situation and in that context, I hope that there will be a recognition by the Opposition that the situation in which we find ourselves must be remedied. It cannot be remedied by people who were in control at the time and who now wish to run away from reality. Simply because certain Deputies happen to be in County Meath engaged in a by-election campaign does not relieve them in any way of responsibility for what they entered into when they were in control.

Sadly, people's feelings are being manipulated in a cynical fashion at the present time. People are being treated as if they are children and that is not fair. It is not fair to the people, to political parties and to Independent Deputies. Everyone must recognise that we are in a difficult and tight spot. This Government does not take any pleasure in doing what has to be done. It grieves Ministers and the Government as a whole greatly to have to do some of the things we are doing.

There is no point in trying to say that European institutions did this to us because they did not. We did it to ourselves, individually and collectively. People can seek someone to blame but we must all take some responsibility. To take that point to its logical conclusion, why not challenge and charge people for malfeasance under various Acts? Why not bring people to court, charge them and see what happens then? However, as we know from experience, very few people want to accept responsibility for their activities in the past. There have been many investigations in this House, the DIRT inquiry being a prime example, but very few people have been willing to accept responsibility for their actions in the past. That is the way it has been and continues to be.

It is with great regret that the Government finds it necessary to review the entitlement to a medical card for those over 70, even though the decision to grant medical cards to such people was made in the run-up to a general election, in order to buy the votes of older people. That decision was made with the approval of many Deputies who are now on the other side of the House. That is the reality and unfortunately, avoiding reality is something we have been particularly good at in recent years. This Government recognises that the decision now being taken will create difficulties. It will create difficulties for Ministers, backbenchers and members of the public. It will create difficulties for families, for those at work and those unemployed, as well as those who are retired.

Sadly, there are very few options available to us and none is easy. When people pretend to insist that there are easier options available, they are wrong and they continue to damage public confidence in the institutions of the State.

I have been a couple of years in this House and I have seen it all before. History has indicated that succeeding generations seldom learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. We have only to consider what happened in Europe in the 1920s and subsequently to see this, and the same arguments are taking place now that took place then. These are arguments about who is to blame and how we can get even. This usually ends with people getting even only with themselves, which is tragic.

It goes without saying that Ministers are doing everything possible to alleviate the burden on the people affected by this and other measures. This comes as no surprise and many of us anticipated this problem two, three, four or five years ago. Many of us predicted everything that happened. We must ask the question of whether we can afford a repetition of the kind of scene we have or have had for the past number of years, with the people led to the top of the hill and shown the vista before them as the promised land. Suddenly, hopes were dashed and people found themselves between a rock and a hard place. It is truly appalling.

This is not a political point but rather a lesson for everybody who enters this House from now on. If there ever was a lesson to be learned, it should come from the indiscretions of the past 15 years, when it was quite clear the economy was going well and could fend for itself. Greed took over, everything was thrown by the wayside and the idea was for everybody to have a party. Unfortunately, we are now paying for that in spades.

I hope people will understand this measure and if they do not, there will be a worse problem that must be dealt with in a different way at a different time. To those who say we do not know what we are talking about, that idea cuts both ways.

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