Fiona O'Malley (Independent)

I appreciate being given a little time to speak on the budget. Everyone has said it was not easy to deliver and neither will any of the next few budgets be. I was quite interested in Senator Cummins's criticisms of where the cuts are to come. If Fine Gael is fortunate enough to serve in Government after the general election it will have to make difficult choices too, and it will be targeting vulnerable groups. It is fine for the Senator to be on his high horse today, but he knows his party will have to address these difficult challenges in the years ahead.

It is difficult to accept that one particular group may be singled out for special treatment, but as the Minister for Finance said in his speech yesterday, the road to recovery is all about getting the fundamentals of the economy right again and restoring competitiveness in order that people can provide jobs. It is the best security against poverty that could be provided, and that is what we are doing, as the Minister announced yesterday.

Different people I spoke to around the House yesterday all agreed that the fundamentals of this economy are good and beginning to get better. This budget represents a restoration of our competitiveness. I have heard talk about the costs involved in a factory that might be coming to Ireland being reduced by 40%, so of course people are far more interested in providing jobs here. Witness the announcements we had this week. That is where we should do the country a service now and start talking positively, especially when we hear international media opining that they cannot get over the gloom and doom in Ireland. The fundamentals are good, we have made a start and the task of achieving competitiveness is most important.

The Minister has done something very clever with the travel tax. He has put it up to those who have been whining about this being one of the reasons for the collapse of the tourism industry. I find it amusing that when one finishes booking a flight with any of the operators, one gets a €10 handling fee. Why do they not believe this is not bothering people, whether they are coming or going? The travel tax cut is really putting it up to them and it has been done in a clever way. I welcome this and endorse the difficult challenge the Government had in framing this budget.