Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

This House made its views very clear when we discussed the national strike a few days ago. We welcome the decision not to proceed with the strike. Clearly, we are entering a critical phase in the discussions about the budget and the economy with regard to the type of decisions that must be taken. The Fine Gael view on this budget and the decisions involved has been clear. We have said that economic policy must focus on reform of structures. It is not enough simply to make decisions on income and taxation. There must be reforms. The HSE is a classic example; the health service will bankrupt the country if it continues as it is and without the reforms that are necessary to implement strategy in that area. This applies across other areas as well.

We have also emphasised value for money and fairness. The reason the Government has run into trouble is that its approaches have not been seen by the public to be fair and comprehensive. Protecting the vulnerable is clearly important. The Government must not go for easy targets. The critical issue, however, is job creation, protecting jobs and ensuring that people can move to training and education when they become unemployed. There must also be job retention programmes. I met somebody recently who had lost their job in the construction industry. They were anxious to get into training to become expert on computers so they could work on-site in the insulation area. They were told that in one area there was a waiting list of 132 people while in another area nearby there were 144 on the waiting list. The person has been waiting three months to hear further from FÁS. We must tackle that type of situation. We cannot allow people to drift into long-term unemployment.

Those are some of the criteria Fine Gael will be seeking in the forthcoming budget. It is particularly important that there is no pandering to vested interests and that the social partnership discussions do what is right for the country. We must ensure the right decisions are made and that we do not pass on extraordinary levels of debt to our children. In that regard, will the Leader convey the latest Government thinking on borrowing levels? A range of amounts has been mentioned. This has serious implications in terms of where cutbacks will be made. Members would welcome any information the Leader can bring to the debate today on that issue.

I also wish to raise the Government's response to the satirical portraits of the Taoiseach. It is over the top for the gardaí to go to the "Ray D'Arcy Show" studio seeking the e-mails from the producer. Freedom of the press is critical at a time such as this. It is easy to attack institutions at present, and they all need reform, including this House. Let us not waste the crisis, as President Obama's adviser said. Let us go for reform. However, protecting democracy and freedom of the press from over-the-top reactions is particularly important. Whatever one feels about the merits or demerits of the portraits, we must be careful. What will happen next? When people telephone or e-mail Joe Duffy on "Liveline", will somebody be sent in to see where those e-mails originated if somebody is critical of the Government? We must be very careful about such Government interference, regardless of the merits of the issue under discussion.