David Norris (Independent)

I will not give him honours. He did a wonderful trick so I will give him marks for conjuring with first-time buyers. I admire him because he abolished the first-time buyer's grant, gave them a double mortgage relief and took it away with the other increase, which is wonderful because they will stay where they are. At least to stay where one is in difficult times is not bad.

I am pleased the alcopops were hit. Alcohol should have been hit further. It is extraordinary that on a day when the Minister did something useful about the kind of drinks young people take, planning permission has been granted for St. Mary's Church, an historic church just off O'Connell Street. It is precisely what we were talking about the other day. This will be another massive boozer which will hold 2,000 young people. It is not the Minister's problem but it is a problem others should address.

I am pleased that carers and old age pensioners are getting something. I am sorry people on the minimum wage are not removed completely from the tax net. We should bite the bullet in this regard, even if there is a cost involved. It would be a thrilling prospect to be able to do that.

I have just returned from taking part in a teleconference of the World Bank in Paris about AIDS. We linked a number countries from Africa and so on and I was really pleased to say that we had pledged €30 million to the world-wide fight against AIDS. This is one of the very few countries which has fully subscribed to this fight, which is very important.