Aideen Hayden (Labour)

Like other speakers I welcome the Minister to the House. It is clear to all of us that we are living in changed economic times. The clear priorities set by the capital programme are jobs, schools and health and doing the best we can with what we have. It sounds like a statement of the obvious, but we are where we are and it is what it is.

It is quite interesting that our colleagues on the other side of the House seem to have completely ignored the fact that the previous Government cut spending from its peak by at least 50% and cut it again in 2011.