Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I again welcome to the House the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews. Normally I enjoy Senator Burke's contributions but today I was surprised by his list of negative contributions on this budget. While it is something in his personality that I had not spotted previously, he must play the game and I take it in the context in which it was delivered today.

I will not say much because it all has been stated repeatedly but I considered this budget to be a fair attempt to try to bring our finances back under control. Its purpose was to try to restore competition, to protect jobs and restore confidence and to restore our international reputation, which was beginning to come into question abroad. This is our biggest opportunity to try to bring stability to the economy and the Government is doing that. I was apprehensive before the budget was announced that it might not connect with the public in the manner in which it did. I was out and about last night and was greatly surprised because the feedback I received was highly constructive. I had been afraid to appear on doorsteps, although I was prepared to visit every door. However, to my pleasant surprise, people welcomed the Government's decisions and that it had taken the lead, has a strategy and that a five-year plan has been announced. The entire purpose of the exercise was to be fair and the Government was fair. One will pay according to one's means, which is a good way to go about it.

Second, jobs and confidence must be brought into the economy and this now will happen. People wanted the Government to take a lead. They understand what we must do. We were running low in terms of our international thinking. There are huge questions to answer about the entire banking system. The banks behaved extremely badly. They forgot their role and forgot how to do a deal with the ordinary man in the street. It is time to remind them that their role is to look after the ordinary man and to open up their credit facilities and home loans. They were not doing that but went into big-buck profiteering.

It is a major disappointment to us as a nation that we allowed the banks to do that. This is the reason I come down heavily on the Financial Regulator and the manner in which it took its eye off the ball and did not do its business as it should. Its purpose is to monitor how the banks work and to monitor the economy as it was beginning to bubble but it did not do its job properly. I am glad to note the budget announcement that new regulations and a new structure are to be introduced that will combine the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator in a new role that will examine and monitor all the activities of the financial sector.

I refer to the national asset management agency, which will take over debts from the banks and will allow them to open up and to stop suggesting that they will handle this situation. That day is over for the banks as the new agency will deal with the debts. This will free the banks to get on with their purpose, which is to give out loans and mortgages and to reopen credit activities for people. This would be the first step towards protecting jobs, which are at stake in this regard.

I will turn to another aspect of the budget, namely, the new scheme to be introduced by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on developing new courses in respect of back to work training schemes. Moreover, new types of course will be introduced to try to enhance new methods. The old skills no longer will be sufficient and new ways and new types of jobs must be considered. Working nine to five may no longer take place and a different structure may emerge. The entire skills programme must change and I welcome the inclusion of this scheme in the new concept introduced by the Tánaiste as part of this budget.

This was a fair budget and the NAMA concept is good. It will help to loosen the financial sector and its purpose is to protect and open up jobs. I also welcome the focus on child benefit and in particular I am very keen on the pre-school education proposal. It is a great idea and I look forward to it. When I was teaching, I would have welcomed its introduction to enable three year old children to attend the local crèche. This is a great new concept, one I have always pushed. Parents will be able to afford to get their children in at that age, even if they have not been able to afford it up to now. It is a wonderful idea that will open up jobs in that area. I compliment our education system at that level.

At second level we should make more of certain programmes. Post leaving certificate courses are great because they tap into the skills that are needed. I have seen these courses work and I was part of it. These were a first class concept in bridging the gap between education and work to see what jobs were out there and reflecting this in the courses and expertise of our educational system. This allowed a new type of upskilling that was necessary. I wish to see post leaving certificate courses integrated into back to work schemes. I did not see a reference to this in the speech of the Minister of State but maybe there is because I did not read it fully. We should combine second level education at the vocational level with FÁS to see how best we can maximise and not duplicate. That is where we might have trouble because, up to now, there was competition between the FÁS and vocational systems to decide which was better. They should work hand in hand, so as not to waste money. There was much money wasted and new schemes should be facilitated to maximise the skills that are necessary and relevant for today's thinking.

The banking system is the big issue. We must restore the financial system, which has been tarnished. The national asset management agency is the way forward. Much work must be done on it but the public understands that this is the only way that will work for us. It will not happen overnight but people want a plan and a lead taken. Ordinary people want to see that their deposits are protected so that if they deposit money for two years, the money will be there in two years. There are many questions being asked when one goes into banks. If we do so, we will restore confidence on the ground. The ordinary person has lost that confidence and that is the person we are here to protect. The ordinary person needs jobs protected and the ordinary family needs to be protected.

The budget introduced on Tuesday will do this. It is fair and straightforward. Nothing will happen overnight. We have had serious problems but we must put it right. As a nation and as politicians we must work together. We should not pick holes in everything that is being done but try to find a way forward so that we, as a country, as parties and as politicians work together so we can all hold our heads high.

I am not splitting hairs and knocking the next person who comes in. I will not do so because I want us to work together. As a politician I am here for the betterment of our country. I want to see us working together. We have a structure. The Opposition should try to say something positive and not pick holes in it and say the Government is making a hames of it but the Opposition would do better if elected. That is what the Opposition is saying, that they are the mighty people and the Government Senators are all wrong. I am never 100% right, no more than any of us are, but I want to try and I am not a negative person. For God's sake, let us try to be constructive in what we do as politicians. This is a smashing formula. Let us go together on this.