Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

One could argue about the futility of such motions. All Senators should welcome the opportunity the motion before the House has given them to discuss consumer issues. Before I speak about the details of the proposed consumer agency, I would like to introduce a sense of perspective to this debate. Senator John Paul Phelan spoke about the "abject failure of the Government". The bottom line is that the economy has been powering ahead. It has been transformed over the last decade. Those who come to this country consistently comment on the Government's significant pro-business and pro-enterprise attitude, which has been maintained over a period of time. Such people compare our attitude favourably to that of other governments in Europe. They have spoken about the agile nature of our systems and their responsiveness to the enterprise and business agenda. Over 450,000 additional jobs have been created since 1997.