Alex White (Labour)

I would like to return to the discussion that took place on the Order of Business. It arises with great regularity in the House and is taking on an air of unreality. Both sides of the House must face up to the issue. I refer to our discussion on the need for co-operation and the level of debate across the floor on the economic measures that require to be taken, the budget, etc. With all due respect to the Taoiseach, it does not really represent progress for him to say the Opposition can avail of what is, metaphorically, a suggestion box to be placed outside the door and that if it has any ideas, it can toss them into it for the Government to look at. That is essentially what has been said. If we are to have a debate at a level beyond the somewhat cynical approach suggested by the Taoiseach, we must all participate in a deeper discussion of the options. I am willing to concede the four-year programme mentioned by the Minister and announced by the Government which is intended to be published in November could offer us a very useful opportunity to debate, perhaps in this House, the various options facing the country. We all accept big decisions require to be taken, but we do not accept there is only one set of decisions, or one set of solutions. As one approaches the budget which is only a few weeks away, one can have less confidence in the willingness of the Government, perhaps any Government, to engage in a lengthy debate on the options. Perhaps the time to do this was earlier in the year, but I would like to have that debate tomorrow. However, I am being realistic because when it was suggested last year that the Opposition might bring forward proposals and they did so - just to remind people I will outline some the proposals made by the Labour Party - they were completely ignored. There was no genuine engagement.

With respect, Senator MacSharry was wrong when he said the announcement by the Department of Finance that it was prepared to brief Opposition parties was unique because it briefed the Opposition last year. However, the problem is that the detail available to Opposition parties dried up as we got closer to the budget, perhaps understandably on the part of Department of Finance officials. It is a pity all of this happens so quickly and in such a rush over a period of a few weeks. I hope the four year programme will contain options, as much as purported decisions by the Government which will not it appears be in office for too long beyond the forthcoming budget.

The outgoing Government - that is how I regard it - could serve the country well by setting out the various options in detail and costing them. This would inform a general election campaign and the debate that would require to be held in the course of such a campaign. There would be political pitfalls in this for all sides. However, we have moved beyond the day when we can afford to allow ourselves to be influenced by pure political considerations in terms of what is in the interests of the Labour Party or Fianna Fail as political parties. There are greater issues at stake. Let us have the price tags, for example, on what appear to be the unmentionables, namely, property taxes, water charges and corporation tax. If one even utters the words "corporation tax", people conclude one is seeking to increase it. What I am talking about is facilitating a meaningful public debate on the cost of a range of measures. We could then engage in a fight.