Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Like Senator Coffey, I ask the Leader to ask the Minister for Finance to come before the House to explain his gargantuan U-turn on Anglo Irish Bank. It is a pity he was not open to persuasion or other points of view on the bank, as he could have saved taxpayers billions of euro.

We must restore public trust in politicians and accountability among practitioners of politics, in particular, Ministers. I am confident the "Prime Time" programme tonight will, once again, expose the largesse of the Fianna Fáil Party in government. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the future of politics and how we, its practitioners, can make politics more relevant and interact and become more at one with those we represent.

I also ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the Croke Park deal, the most important industrial relations agreement to have been negotiated for a generation. On the one hand, there is a sense of self-interest on the part of public sector workers while, on the other, there is a balance to be struck with the national interest. As someone who has been a proud advocate of public sector workers, I hope they will accept the deal and that they will understand their own self-interest will be served in acting in support of the national interest. We need to have a debate in the House not only on the Croke Park deal, but also on the issue of social partnership. We have not seen social partnership under the Government.