All this flies in the face of repeated pre-election promises by Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats candidates that there would be no cutbacks or increases. Does the Government think it is dealing with a very gullible nation? Let me assure the Minister of State that this is not the case. The Government is dealing with a nation sick to the core of political mismanagement and carrying the can for the Minister for Finance's ineptitude. No biblical story could rival the situation in which we now find ourselves. The rewards of years of plenty have been dissipated or destroyed by the Minister for Finance, and years of famine now follow naturally, despite the Taoiseach assuring us before the general election that the public finances were in good shape.