Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

): I will reply to Senator Cummins in the course of my contribution but I want to thank Senators for their comments. I will try to address each of them as best I can.

Before doing so I would like to emphasise how the Finance Bill 2010 is crucial to sustaining an environment in which jobs can be created and maintaining our low tax burden on business. That is essential for our competitiveness. The Bill contains a large number of measures to help Ireland's international competitiveness and ensure we maintain employment until the world economic position improves. We have to build on our existing strengths to put ourselves in a good position to take advantage of the recovery that both my Department and the Central Bank are forecasting for the end of this year.

The measures in this Bill, together with the budgetary strategy, support export led growth in services and goods. The budgetary and fiscal policy, our investment in infrastructure and, as I stressed earlier, our continuous investment over a number of decades in an educated and skilled workforce means our potential to grow and develop is enhanced as the international economic position improves and we focus on harnessing emerging opportunities in knowledge intensive sectors.

I turn to the points raised by Senators in the course of the debate. Senator Twomey started by raising a number of questions regarding specific measures in the Bill and I want to respond to him. He suggested the impact on the public sector of recent reductions in expenditure was disproportionate, and Senator Phelanspoke in a similar sense. I say "yes". The pension levy and the reductions in pay were implemented but they were a necessity in the light of the severe economic circumstances in which we found ourselves. These measures were an unpleasant necessity. We did not want to implement them but we had no choice.

Many speakers drew attention to the banking crisis in this context but what those speakers do not draw attention to is that our receipts as a State are less than our expenditure as a State, quite apart from any question relating to the banking crisis. Hence we are borrowing to pay our salaries in the public service, our transfer payments in welfare and our other day to day expenditure as a State. That is not a sustainable position and Senators - Deputies commit this sin more regularly than Senators - who refuse to acknowledge that or attempt to mislead the public on this issue are doing a grave disservice to the future of our economy.