Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I support Senator Quinn's comments on finding a solution to the current economic crisis. He basically said we must come off the fence and stop the blame game. Instead, we must look to ourselves and see what we can do as people with experience. For some months the debate has not been helpful; it has been more like talk outside a public house. It is public sector versus private sector, unions versus employers, employees versus employers. It is going around in circles and achieving nothing. Senator Joe O'Reilly made a similar comment a few weeks ago in that regard, which I supported. I genuinely believe that even if the views put forward this morning by Senator Quinn are not currently common currency, as sure as night follows day they will be centre stage to any progress we will make in the future. This House should be providing leadership in this regard. If we were to hold a full debate on the issue, leaving aside all blame and setting out our personal experiences in terms of what we are hearing on the ground and what we have observed from positive forward-thinking people, I have no doubt we would begin to put together elements of a recovery package. I do not believe any one grand plan will solve the current economic crisis. It will take a number of small plans to do so.

The Celtic tiger evolution was not to all intents and purposes one single plan but many people bringing their talents, resources and vision to bear on the potential of the Irish people at the time. We will need more of this in the future if we are to recover. I agree with Senator Quinn that when we look back in years to come many of the answers now given by many of us will not be to our credit. Let us not waste this opportunity. I call on the Deputy Leader to arrange for a focused, responsive debate — I am not speaking in this regard of the pre-budget debate — based on our experiences, leaving aside the blame game while doing so.