Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I wish the social partners well in the economic recovery talks. There is an obligation on all the social partners to ensure we bring the public finances back under control. However, I issue a warning that scapegoating young gardaí, teachers and nurses is not the way in which these partnership talks should be approached. We need to be cognisant of the fact that many young families are struggling. There are people who this time a year and a half ago would have been looking at a bright future but they have lost their jobs and are drawing the dole. The schemes to help those people need to be looked at. For example, a root and branch reform of the back to education allowance needs to take place along with other schemes which would put people back into training to ensure we can reboot the economy.

An important point made by Senator O'Toole last week on "The Week in Politics" and again last night by Vincent Browne on "Nightly News with Vincent Browne" on TV3 was that back in the 1980s, when social partnership was used as a model to get this economy going, we were told there was no money in the country. We now know that was not the case. Millions of pounds were siphoned out of this country. If everyone is expected to make a decent attempt to get public finances in order, we need to know the correct state of play and ensure a bit of fair play. Can we get a commitment that the banks will not repossess the homes of those who have recently found themselves unemployed? It is important this House plays a vital role in contributing to the debate on the recovery of the economy.