Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

If the Minister is in a position to make a statement to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party then he should be in a position to make a statement to Seanad Éireann as well. The Minister should be called to the House and there should be a full discussion on the matter. It has been announced there will be cuts to child benefit. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, announced there will be 6,000 fewer people working in the health services. The Tánaiste announced that she has agreed there will be more than 400,000 people on some form of unemployment benefit, out of a work force of 2 million. That is not 12%, it is 20% or one in five people who are guaranteed to be on some form of unemployment benefit next year. If there was a dumbstruck look on the faces of Mr. Jack O'Connor and Mr. David Begg when they came out of Government Buildings, it was equalled by the dumbstruck look on the vast number of people in the public and private sectors when they heard the outcome of those talks in Government Buildings.

We have always discussed the credibility of the Administration of this country but it was not helped with the fudge and with what took place yesterday. It is time the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, or the Taoiseach came to the House and made a clear statement on the exact nature of the agreement between the unions and the Government. Unbelievable harm has been done to our credibility. I am very keen to know what was said by some of the European finance ministers to the Minister, Deputy Lenihan, when they read the outcome of the talks between the Government and the public sector unions on the wire. This is an issue of national importance and it is probably the most important issue on the minds of people at this moment. There was an acceptance by the vast majority of people within the public sector that a cut in public sector pay was coming, but the extent of that cut and how it would affect people was a matter for discussion among themselves. This fudge by the Government has thrown into disarray any possibility of sorting out the mess of the public finances. I seek a clear statement from the Minister on this issue as soon as possible.