Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and thank Senators for their contributions to the debate. As is frequently the case, the Independent Senators, particularly Senators Ross and O'Toole, made very good speeches. Discussing the economy at regular intervals is important and not a waste of time. Economic success is not only good news for the Government but also for the country. We have a right to be proud of what we have achieved, even as we accept the many things we must still do.

I pay tribute to the trade union movement's approach in the recent past. In the negotiation of the first half of the current partnership programme, it helped the Government reduce the rate of inflation, which had peaked at approximately 7% in one month, to its current level of about 1.5%. I am somewhat worried, however, that the increase in international oil prices may have a negative impact on inflation. I hope the second half of the partnership negotiations, which are, I presume, under way and progressing, will come to a satisfactory conclusion because I have always been a strong believer that social partnership has a vital role to play.

Senator O'Toole called for the reopening of the Limerick to Rosslare railway line. CIE is spending €2.6 million on the railway bridge in Cahir which is nearly ready and will result in a better service. I agree with the Deputy's comments on rail. I am not convinced of the need to spend vast sums on an elaborate Dublin metro, but small investments in public transport outside Dublin could have a major impact on provincial areas.

The Minister made the point that the current buoyancy in tax revenue is not due to non-indexation in last year's budget but to revenue from a range of other taxes. Cutting capital gains tax from 40% to 20% was a major strategic decision which is resulted in a flow of revenue ever since.

It was pointed out that jobs are being lost but as Senator O'Toole pointed out the net figure is what matters. If people become redundant but are able to find reasonably good jobs again relatively quickly, they are not nearly in as serious a position as they would have been 20 years ago when people lost jobs without any prospect of being re-employed.

One point that is perhaps not reflected in public print to date is that large parts of the countryside outside Dublin have really taken off in the past 12 months or so in a way that they were not all doing even at the height of the Celtic tiger. It would be wrong to attribute this entirely to the decentralisation announcement, but there is no doubt that it has boosted confidence enormously. Private investment is taking place without even waiting for the public service jobs to arrive.

The decentralisation scheme is excellent. There is inevitably a certain amount of politicking on this issue at present but I hope the public service unions will adopt a constructive attitude to it when the local elections are over. Despite what anyone may say, decentralisation was written explicitly into the Fianna Fáil manifesto in 1997. Moreover, the terms on which it is being carried out are such that substantial, well-connected towns that were not necessarily good at attracting industry will benefit.