John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

There can be no doubt that in this country we suffer from weak regulation in a number of areas and I am glad this has been acknowledged by the Tánaiste tonight regarding energy prices. Obviously, there has been week regulation of the banks, as we have seen from what has been exposed in recent months and what has happened over recent years. The Minister of State spoke of our advances in infrastructure. Outside of spending on roads, which I welcome and have always supported, if one looks at the rail network or, in particular, at broadband, it is clear we are lagging behind virtually all our friends in the European Union.

Consumer confidence in Ireland is at a 13 year low, if one reads the recent research produced by the ESRI. It is also clear that the projections for the next 12 months are quite stark. We will see the return of emigration, which I mentioned in my opening comments, something we never thought we would see again. It will become a reality, based on the projections of the ESRI this year.

A leading economist, Mr. Jim Power, said recently that the unemployment rate could reach 15% at the end of the year. The Minister of State said in his comments that in 1987 it was 10%. He would be glad of that figure at the end of this year were the figure of 15% to come to pass. FÁS has already projected that unemployment at the end of the year could be as high as 12%.

I ask the Government to support my motion. I acknowledged that there are outside forces at play but there also needs to be an acknowledgment from the Government that it has not put the correct policies in place heretofore. I ask Members on the Government side to support the motion.