Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I support the view that we should have a week-long pre-budget discussion. The best propositions that emerge during the debate should be taken into account when the budget is being drawn up. When we examine the grave crisis that is developing on foot of the fall in the Exchequer returns, we cannot escape the reality that last year's decision to increase the rate of VAT has led to an exodus of shoppers across the Border and overseas. I ask the Deputy Leader to take that on board and raise it with the Minister for Finance. While it is difficult to quantify the huge drop that has taken place, I suggest it needs to be factored into the discussions that will take place over the next few weeks. We need to estimate the degree to which the increase in the rate of VAT led to the haemorrhage of money out of this country over the last couple of months. On the basis of my personal experience, having observed the queues in towns like Newry and Enniskillen, I suggest the increase in the VAT rate contributed significantly to the reduction in the Exchequer returns. The own goal we may have scored needs to be analysed.

I welcome the decrease in energy charges, for which I had been calling for a long time. I contend that the question of price control needs to be examined critically. If we can make changes that generate more spending, that will have a positive effect on the Exchequer returns. The issue of waste in this country, which was mentioned earlier, also needs to be analysed. A tighter auditing process is needed. Those who work in this country's extraordinary and excellent native Civil Service were recruited from schools and universities through the most rigorous processes. Our Civil Service has been supplanted and overcome by a network of ministerial advisers. The jobs of many civil servants are now being done by extra personnel in the offices of Ministers of State. A whole phalanx of people are doing work that should be done by the native Civil Service, which has the genius to do it. The immediate elimination of that nonsense would save significant money. That critically needs to be considered. If we eliminate waste and fraud in a number of areas and tighten auditing processes throughout the country, enormous savings can be made. While I am calling generally for an overall debate at this time, I can give the Deputy Leader some specific examples when I speak to him privately later today. A focused debate needs to take place over the course of a week. We should all come up with practical suggestions. I have cited a couple of examples. Many more will be thrown up if we have a week-long debate.