Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I support the proposal made by Senator Keaveney for a debate on the Spirit of Ireland proposals on wind energy. Its presentation was one of the most impressive I had ever attended and I compliment Senator Butler on making it possible.

Senator Alex White made a significant contribution to our discussion when he suggested we should consider how we use the remaining preparatory years leading up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising. What makes his contribution more significant is that we are in the midst of an economic crisis which threatens to swamp and overawe us as a nation. The two issues are not mutually exclusive. We must look back at what the leaders of the 1916 Rising wanted to achieve and consider the great sacrifices they made. I compliment TG4 on the excellent series it produced on them. I am convinced, as I have been saying since the beginning of the recession, that unless we bring positivity and patriotism into the debate on the economic crisis, we will not overcome our difficulties. Senator O'Toole made a good point about the four-year plan when he said it should include a stimulus package. I am convinced the Government has deeply integrated such a package into the plan. I suggest the same must be done in the budget, as there is a feeling doomsday is 7 December. For several months the Leader and I have been fine-tuning a number of proposals which, if accepted, would have a major impact in tackling unemployment. We have researched the issues, consulted and presented our proposals to the Government and I hope they will have an outing in the budget. That is the route we must take. We must be positive and come forward with and test proposals.