Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, to the House. I did not think the bail out of Anglo Irish Bank was free. Perhaps the Minister will give us the report by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the bad debts in Anglo Irish Bank. Perhaps Senator Butler can let the Irish people know what they are paying to bail out the bank and the friends of Fianna Fáil. The bailout was not free — the Irish taxpayer will pay for it.

The Minister of State is a genuine, decent person and I supported his call last week. I admired his bravery in saying that he would not mind being fired. Senator Hanafin blamed Fine Gael for being unsupportive of the Government. Let us put the record straight. We were the first to raise the flag about benchmarking and public spending. What do we get from the Government? The laissez-faire approach, being all things to all people. Let us call a spade a spade. The scale of the economic crisis is due to bad Government planning, bad policy and the legacy of bad leadership over the past ten years. The Irish people were sold a pup by Fianna Fáil, in particular in 2002 and 2007. We built our economy on a false boom.

This party has never been found wanting on the economy, the North or any other issue. Fine Gael has always been supportive and has always put the country first. An example is the capitalisation programme at the end of September and October. I resent any cheap shots and I will challenge them. I will take on the Senators opposite. The reality is that we have had no plan from the Government. Last summer, the Minister for Finance ordered a sort of mini budget. There was pandemonium during the summer holidays. The Cabinet decided to bring the budget forward to 14 October. They forgot about the consequences of declining tax returns and that the budgetary process was not ready. The budget was a botched job.

Let us put the record straight. The Government has not demonstrated leadership. Where is the plan? What have the social partners been told today? I am an unashamed fan of social partnership and I admire what has been done in that respect. No detail has been given to Members of either House of the Oireachtas.