Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The essential safety net of social welfare is one we all respect and need in our democracy and in our economy because those who experience financial difficulty deserve and need the support of the State. Nobody on this side of the House has urged more austerity. The opposite is the reality. We have urged spending the money better, that it be more people-centred and invested in jobs, creating better communities and passing on a sustainable economy to the next generation whom we do not want to see emigrate.

I was a teacher in my previous career and I have written references for past pupils, as I have said in this House repeatedly. It almost kills people to see their young family members emigrating. One can walk around every GAA club in every parish in this country and see the consequence of the failed policies of the past. If one travels to Australia, America and Canada one will meet Irish people and the one comment they make is that they want to come home to create a life for themselves and their families in Ireland.

The Members opposite should not tell me that this Government does not get the pain; we do. We hear about it every day in our constituency offices, in our families and in our parishes and communities. We understand. There is no easy choice to be made now, and when the necessary adjustments are made we will see a better Ireland.

There is no dispute about the Government's overall objective. It is about returning to our people a sustainable economy and ultimately restoring our economic sovereignty. That is the task that was given to us as a Government and the mandate we have been given. We have taken over office as a Government, and it is a little like what happens in any family. Without being derisory, it is like an arranged marriage. There are tensions and teething problems but one does not walk out the door after the first row, go out on the plinth and say, "It is over". To return to my fundamental point, it is easy to run away and hide.

I accept that people outside this House are hurting as a result of this Government's decisions in the budget and that there are consequences in taking €2.5 billion from the economy. Do the Members opposite believe we would want to do anything differently? Of course we would. We wish we did not have to make fiscal decisions that impact upon people but the bigger picture is about the people and securing the future of our country, and this Government will do that. We have seen it in many different ways. We saw it earlier today when the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, published the alcohol strategy. We are tackling the mistakes of the past. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, in ten or 20 years from now, will be seen to have been a very good Minister for Health because he has a vision-----

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