Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The people did not buy it because they are not fools. People are discerning and one must appeal to their common sense and to their sense of logic. They knew this proposal meant the longer first-time buyers stayed out of the market, the better off they would be because it would take three years to implement.

What sensible party that knows anything about the dynamics of employment or the building industry and its role in our economy would arrive at such a proposal? We agree that, in the context of our GDP, we have a dependency on the construction industry that is much higher than in other countries. We also accept we must deal with this. However, to suggest we are doing nothing to promote other types of employment is to say the programme on technology, science and innovation——