Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The points made by Senator Fitzgerald are very useful. I felt the silly season had opened up full time this morning when I received a Bill from my Kerry colleague, Senator Mark Daly, and the two Green Party Senators that would require mobile phones to carry a sign stating they emit radiation. It reminded me of my youth when people invented luminous watches and the view was that we could all die of radiation poisoning from them. Another view was that florescent lights would make us all bald. This is Luddite scaremongering and I will certainly oppose the Bill left, right and centre. We can do more important things with our time and there are Kerry issues which are more important that this, if I may say so to Senator Daly.

It is a pity we will not have an opportunity to discuss the ESRI report. I do not want to get involved in a party row between the Opposition and the Government on this issue but I want to look at the two significant points in the report. The first of these is the fact that the deficit has risen to 19.5%. No matter who is in Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party or Sinn Féin - this issue will have to be dealt with. It seems that capitalisation is a draw-down figure and at the very least surely it could be made available on an annual basis so all of the hit would not have to be taken in one year because it damages the country externally.

The second point in the report with which I take serious issue is the infrastructure question. Both sides of the House have argued that we should have infrastructural work to create employment. There are two reasons which the ESRI, with its academic response to the situation have missed. One is a short-term employment bridge to create employment for people until more sustainable long-term employment is created but more importantly, it is an investment in future infrastructure on which we will build the economy and future employment. That message has to be got out there.

I do not want the Government running in front an ESRI report which is true in what it says but neglects a very important part of the future. This point was made by the old Deputy Michael Noonan whom I heard on the radio this morning. He made the point very clearly. I took great pleasure in the fact that he had a right cut at his own PR and media people in Fine Gael when he ignored what was on the Fine Gael website and stated the true facts were what one hears from him. We need more of this type of leadership.