Shane Ross (Independent)

They spoofed and boosted the economy to a level of confidence that was completely unjustified. That is something the Government will have to address, namely, that powerful organisations such as those command such clout, not just internally but on the national media. I saw them yesterday on the national media. I do not want to mention names. On the news yesterday there was a well-known economist from a bank telling us things are getting better. They may be getting better but he has absolutely no credibility because of the organisation that pays him to say that. He has absolutely no credibility because the same person, along with a host of others, was giving the green light to more spending on property, constantly reassuring us that the little dip in 2005 was only a dip. Those people must not be listened to. RTE has a greater responsibility than the newspapers not to use these people and give them credibility because they are presented as experts who are independent. They are possibly experts but they certainly have no independence and the tune they have been singing was almost universally one of saying the economy was on the right course when it was heading for the rocks. That is why it is so valuable to get reports from the OECD and the IMF.

Regrettably, when we get these reports people play politics. It is inevitable although it is not to be condemned. It is just a pity because they become a political football instead of something we can look to for independent wisdom. The message that came from the IMF was that the aspirations of the Government are fairly sound but it may not be able to do what it wants to do.

There is a problem, and it comes from the top, that we do not have a sense of the crisis we are in. Quoting deficits of €20 billion on television means nothing to people watching. Budget deficits are for other people, not individuals. They are national issues that do not affect us.

The first thing that might have been done was to inject panic because we are in a panic situation. Most independent commentators are of the view that virtually all the banks here are bust. They cannot make ends meet and if they had to call in their loans, they could not be paid and they would go under. That is the reality. That does not mean a lot to people and they do not care a lot about it until their savings are threatened. We have seen a certain degree of savings being moved out of the country but if people were to realise how bad things were we would see a lot more movement of money.

People must be conditioned to accept that they must make sacrifices and that we are all going to make them. That is the most important thing. It is difficult to take the sort of strike Senator O'Toole was talking about so eloquently when the perception - I do not want to get into the rights and wrongs of it - is that a group of workers is stealing a march on others. It is a difficulty for David Begg, the president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, who is trying to hold the line on the public service levy and who is then saying these guys should get 11%. They should not get 11% or anything like it because the message will go out that the flood gates are open and that striking, even in this situation, pays. The threat of an all-out strike is real. On top of that it appears the entire trade union movement backs that strike. If that happens and it escalates, we can wave goodbye to the economy. We must instil that sense of urgency into ourselves.

Senator O'Toole mentioned an issue we do not agree about but it is important. We should look again at social partnership. To my mind, if it is not dead, it is completely lost. We only need look at the social partnership negotiations of two weeks ago between the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance and the unions. There was a demand from the unions for €1 billion in subsidies for employment. That is just not a runner. They quite rightly said that the banks are getting so many billions so why can the Government not do as much in terms of subsidising employment. I do not believe, however, that they will get even the €250 million vaguely promised.

If partnership is to continue, which I do not believe it will, we must look at it in a different light. Social partnership succeeded principally when we were rich, although not entirely, perhaps. Those who point to the 1987 to 1989 period may have a point in saying that they agreed to responsible wage levels which helped the economy. I do not believe it made much difference but I can see the point of view of those who say it. The social partners - the employers, the unions, the Government and anyone else who was involved - were very successful and life was easy for them during the 1990s because there was plenty of money to go around. Now, however, there is not plenty of money so they must adjust their thinking to how they can act in the national interest. Acting in the national interest now means making sacrifices, with the trade unions telling people in the public service that they must make sacrifices of 10% to 15%.

It means employers making sacrifices on profits and on their own pay. Senator O'Toole is right. I cannot understand why the new head of IBEC did not come out when he was appointed and say how much he is paid. Let us see how much they are paid in that organisation, which enjoys an immensely privileged situation and does nothing for it. Let us see what they get paid because they do not do very much. There should be more of an emphasis on employers who get these large salaries to declare what they are getting than there is on the workforce who are getting an awful lot less. The sacrifices, openness and transparency must cut both ways.

I have not been as critical as I wanted and there must be some words of encouragement for the Minister for Finance. It is encouraging that we have a Minister who has gained the confidence of investors overseas. There are desperate dangers for Ireland. The raw figures are appalling and the outlook is still really bad. The Minister for Finance, however, has got on top of his brief and anyone who talked to anyone who was on his roadshow in Europe - I am not talking about people from here because they would be propagandists and from the Department of Finance but overseas investors, two of whom I have spoken to although I have heard anecdotal evidence from elsewhere - and who saw the Minister for Finance say he is most impressive and determined.

I urge the Minister to hold his nerve, not to worry too much about the reaction of his backbenchers in December at budget time, to do what is right for the nation and to take political courage. He will get a budget through if he does that. It will be extremely unpleasant but it will be the right thing to do. If he relies on the IMF report more than any domestic advice, he will be doing the nation a service.