Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

Every point has been raised repeatedly. Unfortunately, I will go down the same track and make the same points that were contributed in a constructive manner by Members from all sides of the House in the past few hours. Listening to this debate and the fine statements on how best to move forward has been great. There is no doubt that sacrifices must be made. If we are to pull ourselves out of the crisis, the days of bickering, points scoring and one-upmanship must end. I want to work in any way possible to bring the economy back.

Two years ago, everyone was cushily sitting without worries, money was flush and people were spending long weekends in Marbella to play golf. People are now shocked and are asking themselves whether they will keep their jobs. How many families are watching their television sets and wondering how they will get out of this situation? This morning, I spoke to a young couple with two small children. The husband works in consultancy and his wife told me that, while she is lucky to be able to do so, she has no choice but to return to her teaching profession because her husband may shortly be without his job.

The division between the public and private sectors has been mentioned. The private sector has strongly argued that salaries in the public sector have pulled ahead of its own. This was not always the case, but the public sector played catch-up for a while. When I started teaching, I compared my salary with those working in the business world. Like with like, there was no comparison. In fairness to the unions, they pushed the matter and our salaries jumped quickly. They moved ahead of those in private industry. There must be a levelling off in both sectors.

The majority of those in the public sector understand they must accept cutbacks. This morning, I asked someone whether he or she wanted to be like the workers at Waterford Crystal who, after working in the industry for 40 years, have no hope of jobs, no pensions, are fighting to hold on to whatever is left and are trying to rebuild Waterford Crystal, or a worker in the public sector, be it a teacher, nurse, garda or those in the Civil Service. I would prefer to take a cutback and hold on to my job for five days per week than to find myself, like those at Waterford Crystal and many other firms, worrying about whether I will have a job in one month's time.

We must protect everyone. We are Ireland and we want to ensure a return to a good standard of living. We have started on that road and I congratulate the Taoiseach and the Cabinet on taking the lead. I also congratulate the social partners who did their best and brought the negotiations to the wire. Unfortunately, they could not step over it. However, they are on side and are anxious to hold the country together. Everyone has a responsibility to do the same.

As a public representative, listening to the discussion and the many points raised and the constructive ideas has been rewarding. I will repeat a number of points that struck me. When I am out and about, the matter raised with me is a reduction in the VAT rate. When I go to the ladies' clothes shops where I am known, I am asked to reduce VAT. I am not convinced, given the type of shop in question. In recent years, the mark-up on clothes has been colossal, making a profit of 200% to 300% on any item of clothing. Many would agree with me in this regard. These figures can be reduced. Even those shops where sales see items' prices reduced by 70% are making profits.

Senator Quinn told the House that costs must be reduced. Wages are automatically falling, but production costs must be considered. We must play a role in this regard, given that retailers did well during the Celtic tiger years. They made their profits and must now make a contribution. I am not knowledgeable enough to know whether we should go about doing that via VAT or otherwise, but we must determine how to tell the public and shopping malls that they must help. The day of the fast buck is over.

I refer to small building projects that can be brought on stream quickly, such as school or house extensions. I ask the Minister of State to work with local authorities to speed up the planning process because some are making a mess of it. That would help to get projects off the ground. There is not enough co-ordination.

We must help the unemployed, who are vulnerable. We need counsellors who will guide them to the best opportunities. There are not enough people to help them whether they do a course and upskill, an educational programme or whether they collect their dole money and look for opportunities wherever they can get them. The FÁS placement officers have been misplaced for a long time. There is a golden opportunity to re-specify their jobs and how they do them.

The economy is on the rocks. We can make it work. Let us all work together. Our Taoiseach and the social partners started this process a few days ago. I was pleased to be part of such a constructive debate this afternoon.