Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

Given our serious financial position and having assessed our position after the budget, will the Leader consider the great number of eminent persons on both sides of this House who will be important in the future and look at setting up a new committee of this House with teeth that could produce facts and figures and look at what Senator Callely was talking about for the next budget? We can do little about what we have done.

Mistakes were made in the budget. One of things I would like to do this morning is apologise to the elderly of this country because we made a wrong call in that regard. We have now done our best to put it as right as possible.

However, we find a much worst position for next year. As paid Members, taxpayers will not appreciate if we do not produce good working policies for the next budget. We should not go into a budgetary situation next time without having the complete input of everyone in this House. I call on the Leader to set up an all-party committee that would deal with financial matters heading towards the budget. As Senator Callely said, it is terribly important that we get the people currently made redundant from small businesses back to work.

The budget will not expand the economy in any way. In fact, it will probably hold the economy as it is and that is not good enough for the future. We must raise imaginative ideas in this committee that we would set up. Will the Leader look seriously at this because there are Senators on both sides of the House who can make a significant contribution in this regard? The small business sector is suffering. We can make a difference, so we should do this.