Ivor Callely (Fianna Fail)

The measures contained in the Bill are exceptional and we should acknowledge that the road we are travelling without the support of the social partners is not of our choice alone. The economic and financial difficulties facing the Government are different in nature from anything we have ever experienced previously and that is the reason exceptional measures are necessary. The measures are designed to bring order and help balance our public finances. It reflects the determination of this side of the House to implement Government decisions, albeit painful ones, but failure to act decisively would be negligence on our part. We must take a responsible and sensible view of the grim reality that prevails. By and large there is agreement on the need to take exceptional action by those who understand the difficulties that confront us. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Finance and Government colleagues have consulted widely, there has been careful assessment of the extent of our problems and recognition of the exceptional effort it will take to improve the situation.

It is difficult for the ordinary man or woman, young or old, to understand the seriousness of the situation. Unless there is an understanding and an appreciation of the facts, the general public will continue to express their dismay, which will fuel further anxiety and alarm. I ask the Minister of State to put into the public domain a clear and succinct picture of the scale of the problem and the recovery plan. An important part of the plan is the recovery period. Like the previous speaker and others, I believe the recovery period should be short and sharp.

In layman's language, this year the Government's outgoings will be approximately €55 billion, our income is expected to be approximately €37 billion, leaving a shortfall of approximately €18 billion. The question is from where can we get the €18 billion required. Like most people who find their outgoings exceed their income, they check how they can rebalance outgoings with income. We can foolishly and solely travel the road to increase our income and let our outgoings continue regardless. I will quickly explore increasing our income side. Do we do more business with our trading partners or do we generate billions of euro in additional taxes? The sad reality is that those countries with which we trade are all going through an exceptionally turbulent period and at this time there is no extra business to generate the level of extra income required. Our tax take is decreasing. Unemployment and social welfare demands are increasing at a time when our financial institutions need billions of euro of taxpayers' money to keep our banking sector operational. The reality check of our current situation is that the economy is simply not providing us with the resources required to meet the demands the community as whole are placing on it to the extent of an €18 billion shortfall this year alone, which will have to be borrowed.

There must be an appreciation of this fact and an acceptance by all to resolve our difficulties with widespread public consensus. As a first step, this Bill calls on a number of sectors to help resolve our difficulties with one of the primary areas being public service pay and pensions. Given the relative size of the Government's €55 billion outgoings and its shortfall in income of €18 billion, this is the right first step. I believe the public will sign up to an acceptance to resolve our difficulties in a fair, open and transparent fashion, once the new coping classes of the lower and middle income earners are not being burdened much more than the higher income groups. A mechanism should be put in place so that everyone feels part of the plan and shares some level of the pain. There is an acceptance by the majority of people to participate. The Minister of State, in referring to the pensions, said: "The deduction is progressive, as people on higher incomes will continue to pay proportionately more than those on lower incomes." It is very important to get this message out as my concern is the escalation of social and industrial unrest. With social and industrial unrest there is no gain, only pain.

We are at a point in our history where our ability to come together in difficult times has never been more important. The answers to our difficulties are not beyond our reach. We should not underestimate our challenge or overstate our difficulties, but face them together with unity of purpose, firmness of resolve and a belief in our ability to overcome difficulties, succeed and remain positive.

In the recent past, Ireland has proved it is capable of enormous success on the world stage. We have achieved success beyond measure and beyond the expected capacity of a nation of our size. The sober, cold and stark reality is that the global recession has weakened our position, public confidence is shaken and the level of uncertainty is frightening. It is our responsibility and duty as Members of this House to confront this challenge boldly, restore hope and confidence, take charge of our future and make the difficult choices to restore our economy.

Now is the time for a universal commitment by all the people to help each other so that we can pull ourselves out of the current difficulties. We all have a stake in each other's commitment and success because the more each individual succeeds, the more Ireland succeeds. Together we can and will resolve our current difficulties. It requires change and sacrifice by all. We have never been afraid to adapt to changing circumstances. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to rebuild and recover. In our recovery we will emerge a stronger, more progressive and more prosperous nation.