Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I support my colleagues who have called for a debate on the budget. I make this call in reference to what happened in Greece today. For the second day in a row Greece has suffered huge losses in its stock market and seen the price of its government bonds and the cost of borrowing rise again. This is very relevant to what is happening in Ireland. If the bond markets and hedge funds get what they want from Greece or if the Greek Government shows the necessary resolve to sort out the national finances, the next country at which everyone will look will be Ireland which is next on the list.

We need to see strong leadership on the part of the Government tomorrow. We also need discipline. I support the comments made by Senator John Paul Phelan. Other colleagues praised the Taoiseach earlier, but the dogs on the street know he was rolled by the Cabinet on the issue. They know that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste wanted to implement a deal that neither reflected the wishes of the people nor those of the Cabinet. That is the backdrop to the budget which will be announced tomorrow. Not only will the people be listening to the budget but people outside the country who will have a huge effect on our economic security will be watching too.

We hear Member after Member talk about the need for better coverage of the proceedings of the Seanad. An exciting initiative is being taken in that regard in which a live blog is being made featuring all the contributions of Senators today. It is being done as I speak and is available to all of us in real time on www.scribblelive.com.