Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister of State for dealing with a very tough budget. We all knew this one would be difficult because we were facing a huge hole in our finances. It was necessary to take hard decisions, to be decisive and to show leadership and I believe we have done that. It was important that we made a major decision in July that gave savings of up to €400 million. That was far seeing and corrective at a time when we did not realise our finances were going to be in poor shape. We did it, however, and it was very important.

That concerned 2008 and we now look forward to balancing the books in 2009. There is €1 billion in 2009. The rationalisation of State agencies was long overdue. In this budget 41 agencies were dealt with, which will save substantial amounts of money. We must look at some others.

The bank guarantee and support for the financial institutions was another issue that we dealt with very swiftly and we now have a banking system that is credible. The new legislation to come before the House tomorrow will give the banks important credibility in the European and world context. It means that we are now open for business in this country and the Government is behind the institutions of our banking system and is committed to them. We cannot run a country without a good and reliable banking system.

It is important to ensure that we put strong investment into education for the future, as this budget does. There is also a substantial amount in the budget for social and affordable housing which needs support. We have done that in this budget and have also put aside substantial amounts for research and development. That will be important for ensuring new job creation projects for small firms.

When the proposals on banking come before the House tomorrow it is important that we have a package——