David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I wish all Senators a happy new year and I genuinely hope it will be a good year for everybody. Unfortunately, we know this will be a tough year for many. It could be the toughest year yet, socially and economically. The budget cuts announced last year are starting to bite, the end of year Exchequer returns showed that the tax take for the year was down on what was expected and 445,000 people are out of work. More people are out of work now than when the Government took office. We have a jobs crisis and a social crisis because many people will live in poverty as a consequence of Government decisions.

I welcome a number of the statements that will be discussed over the next number of weeks but there are a number of glaring omissions. A number of calls were made before the new year for a debate on job creation. It remains the biggest issue affecting this State. Too many people are out of work and the Leader will be aware that Waterford city has a disproportionately higher unemployment figure. Health and education are critical areas and the relevant Ministers need to come to the House to take statements. The Leader will also be aware of the impact health cuts are having on local and regional hospitals from his own experience in Waterford and of the impact education cuts are having on DEIS schools and on many others schools, which are losing teachers. He attended a meeting in Waterford with teachers from the city and county. The cuts announced in the budget are beginning to bite hard.