John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

—condemns the Government for the continuing deterioration in employment in the manufacturing sector;

—regrets the low level of growth in the number of indigenous companies;

—notes the low rate of corporation tax that led to a huge increase in the number of foreign owned companies and thus employment; and

—calls on the Government to adopt a similar low tax strategy for the indigenous sector.

The back-slapping nature of the Government's motion is typical of the motions we have come to expect from the Fianna Fáil benches in Private Members' time. Contrary to what Senator Leyden stated, there are a number of issues with which I must take exception.

The motion is yet another attempt by Fianna Fáil to claim credit for the Celtic tiger, something it inherited and which was due to the good policy of several previous Governments, most notably the rainbow Government, and was built by the hard work and sacrifice of the people. The Government parties have a brass neck in tabling this motion given that 160,543 people are now on the live register, which represents an increase of almost 2,000 in January of this year. Some 63,000 redundancy notices were issued between May 2002 and the end of September 2004, including 12,719 in metal manufacturing and engineering and almost 8,500 in the banking, finance and insurance sector.

The rainbow Government left the incoming Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Administration with an economy that was creating 1,000 jobs a week, a record it subsequently fumbled and is only now beginning to regain. The rainbow Government was the first Administration to record a current Government surplus since 1972 — a record since lost despite 34 stealth tax rises since the last election. Moreover, the rainbow Government left office with a 1.5% inflation rate whereas we all know the current Government's record on inflation since the 2002 general election.