Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I wish to raise another matter, which has been raised on two or three occasions previously, the question of the economy, competitiveness and wages. It is interesting to stress again a point I have made many times. The issue in question is not only about salaries, pay pauses and all that goes with that. What we set out to do was to ensure that people shared the wealth of this country. The point is often made that salaries and labour costs are the problem. I will leave the House with one piece of information; the best paid workers in Europe are in the Scandinavian countries, in Finland, Sweden and the other Nordic countries. Their economies are also the most competitive. That is the question the Government must answer and the one with which we must deal when we talk about examining saving public funds. I look forward to a fuller debate on this issue. Senator Fitzgerald's proposal to have a debate on the economy is crucially important.