John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

If the Senator gives me a chance I will explain the action to him. The Government cares about inflation. If the Government did not care about inflation it would not have published such a Book of Estimates as it recently did. If we have growth of 5%, inflation of 3% and the Government increases spending by 8%, then that is neutral. The Government does not contribute to inflation through public spending when it does that. This is why the Minister was correct to say that what he did with the Estimates was prudent. It is neutral. Let us talk about facts not anecdote.

The key is competitiveness. Is the economy competitive? I am aware of some of the things that have been said by American companies investing in Ireland. However, we are also a stable democracy with an English speaking and highly educated workforce. Notwithstanding the deficiencies in infrastructure, there are still companies that are prepared to invest here and create jobs. Even if we had a planning system that could give a decision in the morning, a road cannot be built overnight. It takes time.