Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I join Senator Alex White in calling for a debate on the role of Government. The mid-term elections in America indicated a very clear feeling among people, which I believe would be replicated here, that they want a debate on what it wants Government to do and on its role.

Cutting expenditure must not be the sole job of Government. We must have a debate on what Government should do, the services it provides and the people it must look after. The Leader should remember there are people who cannot look after themselves and who require the State to do so. That is why we must have a debate on what the Government does. I am very much in favour of the elimination of waste and creating efficiencies but we must remember our job is, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, to look after people when they cannot do so themselves.

Like Senator Fitzgerald, I call for a debate on education. If we are to become immersed in the smart economy, then cuts to education at any level are wrong. If we are to make education the launching pad from which to rebuild Ireland, this Government must be honest with the people in regard to it.

I totally disagree with Senator Mooney's comments on teachers. Thousands of teachers do not leave school until well into the evening and give their time voluntarily and look after their students. It is wrong to pigeon-hole teachers in the way he did. Senator Mooney also paraphrased Tony Blair. Will the Leader comment on the mantra of Fianna Fáil which is to remain in power?

The bottom line is that we need a general election and Senator Doherty's High Court action result is an indication that there has been an unreasonable delay in holding the by-election. The Irish people are not waiting in the long grass or in the short grass but they are waiting for the Government.