Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

That is immutable. The best analysis we have suggests we need to make adjustments of €3.8 billion to do that. The Government has decided that this amount should be made up as follows: €1.6 billion in additional taxes; and €2.2 billion in cuts, €1.45 billion of which will be in current and €0.75 billion will be in capital expenditure. It is a fair point if Fianna Fáil believes we should go deeper on the current side. In relation to the cuts on the current side, which will be announced on 6 December, 80% of all current expenditure is in the health, social welfare and education areas. There are no soft options there. We will get the same critique from people who will the end but will deny the means, which is a failed economic policy. We need to be honest with people; say it as it is and to map out the truth of what we want to do. None of these issues is hard.

If Fianna Fáil genuinely believes that we should have augmented the capital programme, not cut €750 million, but should instead have taken that amount from the current side, making deeper cuts in social welfare, education and health care, that is fine but they should put that on the table so that we can-----