Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, I am calling for a debate on job creation. In the run-up to last year's general election the Government parties promised to create 40,000 jobs a year. There is no system to measure how many jobs will be created on foot of the Government's raid of ¤2 billion from the National Pensions Reserve Fund over four years.

I call for a debate on the mortgage issue. We all know it is a serious issue. A report today by Moody's projects that one in five mortgages will be in default next year and that if one is self-employed one is twice as likely to be in default this time next year. This is concerning because these people are going to be the new vulnerable. Often they do not have the safety net of social welfare to look after them. I call for the publication of the Thornhill report into the new property tax. On this side of the House we have argued that while there are arguments for a property tax as a means of collecting revenue now is not the time to bring in a property tax when one considers all the pressures that people are under.

There has been a worrying development from Europe. The German Foreign Minister is calling for the creation of a European army and that the President of the European Commission should make direct appointments to a European government. I call for a debate in respect of Ireland's traditional position of neutrality and for a strong statement from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the effect that we are not in favour of the creation of a European federal army with the provision - this is the worrying point from the German Foreign Minister - that no one country could block a common initiative. That is a serious statement by any German Minister.