Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I support the call from Senators Buttimer and Donohoe to have the Minister for Finance come to the House. I do not expect this to happen next Tuesday. I concur with Senator Boyle's comments about the need to use this House to have a debate not just on the social partnership model but also on dialogue with the social partners. I have asked for this debate over the past month or six weeks but it is now much too near next week's budget. Yesterday's comment by a union leader was particularly disappointing. I hope this was not a case of the mask slipping. If that is how some of the senior union people regard the role of politicians and the place of political decision-makers in the process of attempting to turn around the country's economic fortunes, it is exceptionally worrying. It would be very useful and the minimum we could expect is a fulsome apology by that union leader-----