Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

The Government has not maintained them. It is better to be upfront with people. The Government could not meet the promises it made in its election manifestos or the programme for Government. Of course savings must be made in social welfare. It is an issue with which the previous Government tried to grapple without the support of Fine Gael or the Labour Party.

The Minister was correct to refer to the deficit in the Social Insurance Fund, an issue that needs to be tackled. In the previous Dáil, I was a member of the Committee of Public Accounts alongside the Minister's colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, who consistently raised this point as well. How will we replenish the fund if the Government reduces employers' PRSI as part of the jobs budget-initiative, which the past six months have proven does not work? The Government needs to revisit the jobs initiative and to stop taking money out of private pension funds.