Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

In last year's Budget Statement, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, stated:

The fundamentals of our economy are still good — a point often lost by some. . . . Overall economic and budgetary parameters . . . will ensure that Ireland maintains a sound and sensible fiscal policy, fully in line with the provisions of the EU's Stability and Growth Pact.

I am sure the current Minister for Finance is wondering today what country the Taoiseach was speaking about last year. Public finances are in a shambles and we are facing one of the most difficult budgets the country will ever have. It emerged last week that the Government spent more than €14 million of taxpayers' money on hiring private firms to administer the scheme to reimburse those affected by illegal nursing home charges. This is the type of waste that has been ongoing in this Government and Fianna Fáil Governments over the last ten years. This type of waste will have to be cut out today. We will support the cutting out of waste such as this, but it should have been done over the last ten years.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to ensure that No. 23 on the Order Paper, the Civil Liability (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2008, be dealt with. In addition, I ask the Leader when the credit institutions scheme will be put before us. We spent some time discussing the banks. The urgency of it was stressed a number of weeks ago, but we still have not seen the scheme.