Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I call for a debate on the social partnership model. I understand that 1.5 million people working in the private sector, including in multinationals, are not represented at the social partnership table. The Taoiseach and the Cabinet are paying too much heed to a flawed social partnership model. We rely on the private sector to provide the revenue to pay for the public sector. Will the Government agree to expand the partnership process to include the job and wealth creating sectors of our society, that is, small and medium sized enterprises and the multinationals? Will the Government establish immediately a think tank with three criterion, namely, to protect existing jobs, to create new jobs and, above all, to identify actions to regain our competitiveness? I look forward to hearing the Leader's response to that.