Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I will share time with Senator O'Malley, 15 minutes and five respectively. However, I doubt if I will use 15 minutes as I wish to be as brief as possible. I welcome the multiple opportunities in recent weeks to address the serious economic crisis we face, nationally and internationally. Many have had the opportunity to put on the record of the House their views on the causes of the crises and the possible solutions to be undertaken by way of remedy.

As it is customary, I will begin with a rebuttal of the remarks of my good friend, Senator Twomey. I welcome the decisive action taken by the Government this week in terms of €2 billion in savings. I will return to the rebuttal. Senator Twomey has referred to some of these actions. I will go through each one and make a comment. I refer to the amount of €1.4 billion to be generated from the pensions levy.

We have all received e-mails and calls from those within the public service. There is much anger and frustration at this measure. As I remarked on the Order of Business yesterday, as a public servant I share the anger and frustration resulting from the introduction of these measures. In reality, circumstances have intervened to make such measures essential. That is highly regrettable and it frustrates me. I am angry, as are many public servants, that this is case. However, I fully accept the necessity to do so. We have no choice but to take it on the chin. When tax receipts were significantly higher in recent years, it was possible to introduce certain measures which are no longer possible. This is a simple fact.

Some 80% of the workforce are in the private sector. Most of these would gladly trade their position with ours because of the associated security. They do not enjoy the same level of security at this time. I am certain such people would gladly swap their positions with ours. There is no question that every household in the country will have sacrifice and pain forced upon it by measures already introduced. Clearly, more such measures are necessary as the situation continues to evolve. That is another fact. The Government has no choice but to provide decisive leadership by introducing the necessary measures to correct the public finances from their current state. It is not sustainable to do otherwise. I welcome the proposals of recent days as the first of several necessary steps as we proceed on a course to economic recovery.

Recently published unemployment figures are extremely shocking and it is frightening that 37,000 people have signed on in January. Other figures have been mentioned in this regard and Senator Harris this morning speculated on a figure of up to 700,000 people. While I hope he is wrong, I fully understand the reason he said that. This is extremely worrying and every possible measure must be taken to ensure as much employment as possible can be saved or created in these difficult times. This is what is most important. I appeal to those in the private sector, if possible, to try to consider the possibilities that may exist, such as short-time work or week on, week off work, instead of laying off people. One manufacturer from County Meath to whom I spoke explained to me how he had put his staff onto a week on, week off basis rather than laying off anyone. I respect such commitment to one's workforce and encourage it within the private sector to the greatest extent possible.

I refer to calls for a national Government, such as those I heard from Senator Harris on the Order of Business, and Senator Twomey also mentioned the possibility. It is interesting that such calls are being made and, again, I can understand the reason for them. However, I do not necessarily call for it. Decisive leadership is what is required at this time and I believe this is what the public is getting. I also believe that Members of the Opposition may not like this. As Deputy Kenny noted in the other House recently, the role of the Opposition is to provide opposition and I am quite happy for it to so do if it wishes. While the Opposition should do so in a constructive manner, I am not especially bothered if it does not because that is its choice. At present, a majority exists on the Government side and any constructive suggestions made by the Opposition will be taken on board as the Government and Members on this side see fit. I welcome any constructive suggestions made in this regard.

I also have heard the Tallaght strategy being mentioned in this context many times. However, the 1987 budget has been substantially credited with turning the tide at that time and, as I noted on the Order of Business yesterday, the Tallaght strategy did not exist until the following September. A minority Government put through that budget and if the Opposition wishes to make constructive criticisms or points, it should do so. However, I do not call for a national Government. The Government must provide and is providing the level of leadership required to take difficult decisions to try to secure the future for our children and our grandchildren.

Senator Twomey made a number of points in respect of the Harbours (Amendment) Bill and noted that some Members on this side of the House, of whom I am one, had spoken in favour of the stance taken by Senator O'Donovan. What is important within any political party is a level of vitality to ensure the correct policies are being followed at all times. In pursuit of this objective, it is important opinions differ when formulating policy as, otherwise, it simply constitutes public administration and, God knows, we have enough of that. Senator Twomey should not worry about how Members on the Government side conduct themselves as they will continue to do so as they best see fit.

While I can understand the frustration engendered by the cut of €95 million in overseas development aid, as others have pointed out it is worth noting that Ireland is among the highest per capita contributors in the entire world. Its per capita contributions are higher than those of the United States or the United Kingdom. Moreover, throughout Europe only the Nordic countries, Luxembourg and the Netherlands make higher per capita contributions than Ireland.

I also welcome the curtailment of the early child care supplement. While it constitutes pain for every household in the country, it had to be done. Although a recent increase of €100 to €1,100 was welcome, it now is necessary to reduce it back to €1,000.

I greatly welcome the general and administrative reductions of €140 million as there is always room for improvement and efficiencies in respect of matters such as printing, stationery, advertising and so on, all of which are areas in which we have continually over-expended. All businesses must keep such areas constantly under review and I welcome the proposed savings in this regard.

As for the savings on the capital side, I welcome that much of the suggested €300 million in savings will come from re-tendering and lower construction costs in respect of the various projects. However, I also welcome the Government's commitment to the capital programme, both as a stimulus to our economy and to ensure priority is given to those capital projects which will most contribute to Ireland's competitiveness. This is what is most important.

While we are in unprecedentedly difficult times, both nationally and internationally, the world has not come to an end, nor will it do so. We will come out of this and it is important to do everything we can to best position ourselves to capitalise on an upturn, when it comes. While it is at times difficult, particularly these days, to identify light at the end of the tunnel, it will come. It is vital to ensure those measures that are within our power to take, such as correcting the public finance issues, are taken quickly and decisively. Regrettably, there is no easy way to take the appropriate action in the forthcoming weeks and beyond. As I noted, I believe further measures must be taken in future budgets. It would be nice if that could be spread as equitably and as fairly as possible among all sectors of society. However, as I noted yesterday, I fear it will not be possible to so do without angering many people in this House and in many households of hard-working people nationwide.

I am confident, however, that the Government, under the stewardship of the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and their Cabinet colleagues, will take the appropriate action. It is important to maintain a level of agility and an ability to improvise as the situation continues to evolve. If one looks to the United States, I have watched with interest as President Obama's stimulus package has been negotiated through the United States Senate — I was going to refer to it as the Seanad. It is interesting to see that while the Democrats support it, the Republicans seek changes. However, as President Obama noted, no plan is perfect and if it can be strengthened, that is good. The same is true in Ireland. These are the early steps towards building an economic recovery. However, if they can be strengthened along the way, that certainly should be done and constructive criticism is welcome in this regard.

As for the banking situation, I note with interest that the Government intends to proceed with the capitalisation plan. I do not know whether this will take place this week or next week and I ask the Minister of State to provide clarity to Members in this regard as soon as possible. I realise other matters are being considered. Internationally, I note that in the United States, the possible introduction of an aggregator bank appears to be favoured, whereby bad debt would be pooled and centrally managed. While I am unsure whether this is the correct option, perhaps it should be considered. Moreover, insurance schemes in which governments will insure banks against potential bad debts over a certain level also are being considered. If possible, the Minister of State should clarify whether there have been some suggestions on this matter at European Union level or whether proposed regulations are forthcoming. Unquestionably, in a general sense the entire banking system in Ireland must change forever. I am in favour of capped remuneration as one cannot continue with the level of incentivisation for risk taking that obtained in the past. It has proven to be reckless and contributed, internationally as much as nationally, to much of the difficulty in which we find ourselves.

I expect Members will continue regularly to have the opportunity to contribute on the economic crisis that faces us. Above all, I am sure all Members would like to wish the Government well in all its endeavours on our behalf. Some of today's media reports carry headlines on the so-called biggest bluffer in Leinster House and stated that populist platitudes will not solve the problems. Those terms do not apply to any Opposition Members in the House. It is clear that, while everyone is trying to be as constructive as possible, some are better at it than others.