Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The ESRI report throws down a challenge to Members and throws into sharp relief the importance of the decision taken by the party leaders yesterday. I found the report from the ESRI and the presentation of it today to be contradictory and somewhat confusing. I believe the challenge for all Members and for the party leaders is to spell out clearly to people the reason it is so important to stick to the key target of reducing the deficit to 3% by 2014. A number of speakers in this House have highlighted that the country would not be able to continue. We will not be able to continue paying for basic services unless we convince the international markets that we are serious in our intent. This is the importance of yesterday's decision.

However, I make the point to Senator Boyle in particular and the Government in general that given the debate that took place in the House last week on the Croke Park agreement, it is incumbent on the Government to revert to Members and outline what it is doing to ensure its implementation. Members were given no specifics last week by the Minister. They need to know how the Government intends to speed up implementation of the Croke Park agreement, what savings are being achieved or can be made and the timeframe for them. This is absolutely critical and there is a real onus on the Government to be honest about the Croke Park agreement, its implementation and the savings that together with the partners to the agreement it believes can be achieved.

The disagreement between the ESRI and the Government with regard to the future also highlights the importance of the point on independent verification of figures that Deputy Kenny made yesterday and to which Senator Buttimer referred earlier. This also is critical and should be pursued by the Government and by agreement in both Houses. Finally, I support Senator MacSharry's suggestion on debates on a Department by Department basis, as the Seanad could play a useful role in this regard. For example, Members could discuss tourism and the potential therein in detail. As the infrastructure, hotels, access and airports are in place, Members should discuss job creation in that sector. A debate on that subject in this House could prove to be extremely useful in the formulation leading up to the budget.