Fiona O'Malley (Progressive Democrats)

Like others, I feel a debate on the economy is necessary. More than anything else, the attendance of a Minister during that debate would be necessary. I can understand why none might be available today, given that Ministers are reporting to the Dáil. I am delighted that a debate has been scheduled for later this week, as we must all take stock of where we are.

Given that the Taoiseach has invested much time and effort, listening to people saying he has done nothing is galling. It was a matter of months spent negotiating and in discussions. He made a decision on how he would proceed and tried to build a consensus because we would work better together. We in Ireland are insular and usually discuss only ourselves; we are inclined to forget that our international standing is equally valid. For this reason, the Taoiseach has invested much time and effort in the partnership process. It is regrettable that it did not work in terms of reaching an understanding of the importance of the requisite €2 billion in savings. All stakeholders in the economy would have taken responsibility for necessary decisions.

In another sense, failing to reach an agreement through the partnership process has advantages in that the supremacy to govern has been restored to politicians and to the political process. I listened to Senator O'Toole with interest. While I agree with many of his comments, given that his perspective must be dwelled on, we must remember that the union leaders who were in attendance had a vested interest. Last night, their vested interests were driven home. No one will criticise them for looking after their vested interests, but the Government must look after the national interests.