Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting to note that the Fianna Fáil official position is against additional expenditure this year, which runs counter to all its Private Members' and special notice questions baloney.

They are against any relief or any further expenditure that we have set out such as the winter initiative, ensuring the fair deal is provided within a two-week scenario or ensuring the summer works scheme is funded to allow deficiencies in the built environment of our schools to be addressed. Fianna Fáil is against the provision of these, even though we are more than meeting the stringent targets we set ourselves in terms of our deficit. We have a recovering economy and more people at work. This is a sustainable income stream because, as the Tánaiste indicated to the House yesterday, just below 2 million are at work. The Fianna Fáil position is, like the European Commission, that every cent of that additional revenue should be used to retire debt and, therefore, our deficit should be eliminated entirely rather than give some relief to people under pressure. I reject that view.

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