Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

The faith and trust that people put in this Government have been misused and abused, given what we saw yesterday. We saw a savage attack on young people. It is a budget for emigration, telling young people that they are not wanted in this country. It is an attack on the most vulnerable, including cutting rates to blind people by €8.30.

Carer's allowance has been cut. These are the people who are saving the country millions by looking after their loved ones instead of putting them into nursing homes. They are the ones we tackled yesterday. If the Minister for Social and Family Affairs had tackled fraud, we would not have had the cuts imposed on carers yesterday.

It tends to be forgetten that public service workers have families too. They have made plans based on a certain level of income which has been decimated. Attacking those in the public service on an income of less than €30,000 is an absolute disgrace. Members on the other side of the House should be ashamed of themselves for making such an attack. My party had made plans without any mention of buoyancy. There was no rising tide to lift all boats, as mentioned by Senator Boyle of the Green Party. We had proposed tackling those on higher incomes, whether in the private or public sector.

Seven weeks ago I asked for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the Seanad for a debate on law and order. I did so again five weeks ago. Senator Bacik and others also asked for a debate, but we have been treated with contempt. We have not had a debate on law and order or the prisons for a considerable length of time. I, therefore, propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform be asked to come to the House to debate matters of law and order.