Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Burton, to the House and congratulate her on her appointment. We have crossed swords many times in my previous life but I genuinely wish her well in her portfolio which is very crucial, given the level of spending, if we are to bridge the budget deficit. I watched with interest some of the debate earlier which was misconstrued when Senator Mooney said the issue of the banking debt is overplayed. Many economists and I believe that, and it is an important point.

The fundamental issue, however, is bridging the current budget deficit. Within her portfolio, the Minister will have a major role to play. Given the comments made by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste with regard to no income tax increases and no social welfare cuts in the coming budget, it will be very difficult to find savings of €3.6 billion. The Minister will find support from this side of the House in areas where we agree with proposed savings. After listening to the Minister's civil libertarian colleagues in the Labour Party speak about fingerprinting social welfare recipients-----