Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, to the House and the opportunity to speak in the debate. After any election in which the people have spoken, it is important we reflect on the outcome. It has been a good election for the Opposition, which has been listening closely to the electorate for the last number of years while the Government perhaps has not.

I congratulate all those people from every party who were elected. I commiserate with those who were not elected as I know of people that may not have been of the same party colours who were good workers in their community but lost their seats. Politics is a tough game and sacrifices must be made by an individual who partakes in it. In saying that, such people joined the Government parties and benefitted when the times were good; as the economy has turned around, they are the first casualties after the election.

With regard to the elections, some people have mentioned the accuracy of the register. I agree it can be inaccurate and many people are missing from it who should have been on it. The Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has completed a report on how improvements can be made in this regard. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister to again consider that report, as I am sure the accuracy and efficiency of the electoral register can be improved if the recommendations are implemented.

As a democrat I am concerned about the national turnout as many people failed to vote. If people do not use their vote and have their say, it is disappointing and we as politicians should take note. There is also the issue of the number of spoilt ballot papers and ones unfranked by election officials. The latter is unacceptable, particularly when a voter gives up his or her time to vote.

While the elections were a good day for the Opposition, I know Government candidates would have been disappointed having suffered electoral defeats myself. However, they were defeated for a reason and the Government must listen to the message from the voting public which holds us accountable. Three out of four voters in the recent election voted against the Government. While the Government may blame international economic turmoil, it must accept the national economy was exposed over many years. The Government did not listen to the many commentators and politicians who warned that it was on the verge of collapse.

Many of the Government's decisions, as I have said before, were based on propagating a property market bubble that was not sustainable, with over 60% of those employed involved in the construction industry. Manufacturing industry, much of it indigenous, was neglected during these good times. Ireland lost its competitiveness and took its eye off the ball regarding manufacturing exports, once our strength in the 1990s when the economy began to grow rapidly and when Fine Gael was last in power. Waterford has lost many jobs in Waterford Crystal, Honeywell and Bausch & Lomb which were indigenous manufacturing industries. We need to refocus on this sector and become competitive again in it. Unfortunately, as the property boom escalated, revenues from the construction sector were rolling in while the manufacturing sector was quietly suffering.

My brother runs a small manufacturing company. He tells me every day the serious pressures he is under at the coalface. He, like many other small businesses, is adapting to meet the challenges ahead. These businesses need to be assisted by the Government but it is neglecting them. Overheads, such as energy costs, are crippling many small and medium-sized businesses. While energy prices have been reduced lately, regulation still keeps them artificially high. Opportunities to become more energy independent are available with renewable sources. The Government should invest in the renewables area now to reduce our overdependence on imported oil and gas.

The man on the street believes the Government's establishment of NAMA is the biggest gamble ever taken by a Government. The values of the assets the agency will take on are not known. People are aware these are inflated assets which the Government is buying back, placing a huge millstone around our necks and those of our children. As a parent of three small children under five years of age, this move is of great concern to me and many of my generation. Not only are many parents under pressure with their jobs and exposed to large mortgage repayments and higher costs of living but their children's futures have been exposed by NAMA. People were angry and frustrated but are becoming more fearful of the economy's future. They want real leadership in politics to turn the economy around.

Fine Gael is offering positive options and alternatives to address these fears. The Government has not been arrogant but has been in denial over the past two years. It is tired, stale, out of ideas and out of time. Fine Gael is proposing progressive and proactive economic ideas. We have the energy, the vision and now the personnel to take this country to a new level and recover the economy. I have always respected the Green Party for its good ideals. However, the party's activists should now become members of Fine Gael which is putting green issues to the forefront in its proposals for renewing the economy. That is where the Greens should be rather than propping up a Government that is now crippled.