John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment. The usual nature of a Government motion on Private Members' time is to be self-congratulatory, but tonight's motion takes the biscuit. If the first paragraph were published in any national media, the jaws of the public would drop as low as the ground. The public would be amazed that the Seanad, after eight years of a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government, would welcome the publication of a report on consumer awareness. If that is the level at which the Government is tackling the issue, it is completely out of touch with the reality of the costs faced by households, businesses and consumers in general.

I could, possibly, be persuaded to agree with some of the points made in the motion, but the general tone of welcome for a report is pathetic. This Government is continually one step away from making progress because it is always moving towards another report. One of the points of the motion urges the House to welcome the fact that a high level implementation committee will be set up that will report back to Government within the next three months. Therefore, we must wait another three months for a further report to see whether the recommendations of the group that was set up will be put in place and before action is taken. This is pathetic.

The main reason I find the motion somewhat strange and disturbing is that it welcomes and supports the establishment of the board of the new national consumer agency. I cannot understand why the board is being established, but everything else is being left until later. Why is it that the quango that will be packed with the usual suspects will be up and running first, whether for just three or six months? It will float along on its own before the necessary regulations, legislation or powers necessary for successful enforcement by the agency are introduced.

This Government has been in office for eight years. I do not want to single out the Minister as he is relatively new in his position as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, but he sat around the Cabinet table with his predecessor who held his portfolio for seven years, but did virtually nothing for consumers. Her advice to them was to shop around. She may feel she got away with that, but, to borrow a phrase, the people are waiting in the long grass for the next opportunity. We will have to wait and see what happens when the opportunity comes.

My colleague, Senator Coghlan, outlined the different stealth taxes and increased costs for which this Government is responsible. I will not rehash that list. The amount is substantial. Over €2,000 in extra taxes were collected from every household in the country last year as a direct result of Government policy. If this Minister is to do something during his term in office, he should usefully address some of the charges that have been introduced. They affect a variety of areas. Local authority charges such as development charges directly impact on people trying to provide themselves with a home and have a further detrimental effect on the cost of housing. As my colleague pointed out, Dublin and Ireland are among the most expensive places to live in the world. It is unacceptable that at this point in time we are waiting on the publication of another report before the Government will take any definitive action in the area of increased charges.

ISME recently conducted a survey of its members. One result of the survey was to show the abject failure of the Government to protect our international competitiveness thereby placing approximately 35,000 small firm jobs in danger. The same survey showed that most small business people consider the Government acts as a regulator with regard to small business rather than a facilitator. Mr. Jim Power, an often quoted individual on economic issues, said recently:

Irish Competitiveness has been seriously eroded by a sharp increase in the overall cost base, which will not be reversible. To ensure the future prosperity of the Irish economy it is absolutely essential that investment in education to upskill the workforce, and a correction of the very damaging infrastructural deficit are given immediate real priority, not just lip service.

There have been some improvements in that regard in recent years, but it is clear from today's media reports about the projected cost over-runs in respect of an infrastructural project in Limerick city that a great deal remains to be done. It is difficult for Ministers and politicians to tell the public to "shop around", to use the Tánaiste's phrase, when Government agencies and bodies often fail to make the best use of public resources. It seems that the contractor in the Limerick case will have to be given substantial compensation from central or local government. There is a great deal of room of improvement in this regard.

The Minister is aware that my colleague, Deputy Hogan, has been highlighting this issue for a number of years. He launched a Fine Gael website, www.ripoff.ie, as part of his campaign. The Government denied the existence of rip-off Ireland for the first couple of years of the campaign. A Minister said the same thing recently. The reality for most people is that rip-off Ireland very firmly exists. People are talking about it tonight almost as much as they are talking about the fine evening we are having. I would like to give a couple of examples of rip-off Ireland before I conclude. A consumer was charged almost €19 for a small organic chicken in a local supermarket.