Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I was impressed by Senator Mary White's comments. I remember the 1980s. I recall being on the board of a hospital which received letters from the Government asking how many new jobs we could create. That is what got us into trouble — creating jobs that did not earn their way. We are facing a crisis and Senator Regan has referred to it. The criticism from the European Union today, which I warned about yesterday, is that we have an 11% Government deficit when the limit is 3%. It is the highest in Europe. We are in serious danger of losing our economic and financial independence. The problem is that we are talking about other things when we should be seriously focused on what Senator Regan mentioned, a credible plan that will get us out of this situation. Senator O'Toole spoke about this too. Let us not assume that it can be done easily. We must be careful to talk about ensuring our competitiveness, especially at a time when costs are so high.

I will refer to one instance which Senator Norris mentioned. It appears the energy regulator said ten years ago that, as we want more competition, the ESB must increase its prices to encourage more competition.