Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I tabled an amendment to the Order of Business yesterday to debate the economic circumstances in which this country finds itself. That request was voted down by Senators on the Government side of the House, quite a number of whom seemed to say that the economic situation we find ourselves in is solely the result of global forces. That view does not stand up to scrutiny and it did not stand up to scrutiny in yesterday's ESRI report. There has been mismanagement of the public finances by this Government under the stewardship of the man who was the Minister for Finance and is now the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen.

I want to point out to the House some of the waste that has occurred in previous years. We have had a €3.2 billion overrun on the roads programme. We have had a decentralisation programme which at this stage will cost us €1.2 billion. We have had €380 million in unlawful nursing home charges. We have had €19 million in unused accommodation for asylum seekers. That money would provide many front-line services, be they speech therapy services, home care packages or step-down facilities. All those front-line services are being cut as we speak. As I said yesterday, those services are being cut in the absence of any statement from Government on the reality of the situation facing hospitals, many of which are facing serious overruns. They are cutting back outpatient services, laboratory services and we have no plan from Government.

I ask the Deputy Leader, Senator Boyle, to arrange for a debate in this House on the topics of the waste, the economic plan and the Taoiseach's assessment of the financial situation. What is the Taoiseach's assessment of the situation we are in? What are the Government's plans? Will it go into the summer recess, start announcing plans and not come into this House or the Dáil to debate those matters where they should be debated?

The Irish Times asked today if the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, is up to the job. Let us hope he is, for all our sakes, because we need a proper assessment of the situation. The people need to know also because they are trying to deliver services and pay their mortgages. They want to know the Government's plan for the housing market, for example. People are caught in appalling circumstances in the current housing market. We need to have some leadership from the Government on this matter. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business today to discuss the public finances and I ask Members on the other side of the House to support this.

I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange for the Minister for Defence to come to the House because we are all very aware of the dangerous mission currently being undertaken by our Defence Forces. The Minister has recently visited the area. Some comments were made by the UNHCR about the Irish troops. It would be helpful for the House to hear from the Minister the exact circumstances in Chad and whether the Army has the resources and the numbers for such a mammoth task. We should have a discussion before the end of term on the Defence Forces mission in Chad.