Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

In deference to the Senators who have been here all afternoon, we should not go back over issues that have been already dealt with. The situation with regard to this issue is a bit like St. Augustine saying please make me good, but not quite yet. I have a simple view on the issue. The Senator said he is all for catching people who defraud the system, but when a proposal is put forward on how to catch them, the Senator opposes it and suggests I am trying to catch out people who are legitimately unemployed and in hard circumstances. I find that difficult to take from the Senator. I have spent a lifetime working in communities creating employment. I have never had a commercial job and all of the people who have worked with me know that I have dedicated my life to community development and job creation.

What we are saying is that we need money. The Senator has spoken about stimulus packages. That is fine. We have a stimulus package and are spending €6 billion on capital expenditure every year.