Ivana Bacik (Independent)

Like Senator Walsh, I was very impressed by David Begg on "Questions & Answers" last night. Sitting in the studio, I was particularly impressed by how much the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, appeared to agree with David Begg. The strength of what he had to say lay in the fact that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has put forward a ten-point economic plan for economic recovery that is impressive in the breadth and range of issues which it addresses, but also impressive in the absence of any equivalent coherent plan from the Government. It is long past time that the Government put forward a coherent plan, and I hope that last night's agreement and apparent courtship between David Begg and the Minister of State may give rise to some sort of national solidarity pact on the way forward. Everybody in the country is crying out for an economic strategy that will lead us towards recovery.