I wish to raise the topic of Deputy Brennan, Minister for Social and Family Affairs. Does anyone on the other side of the House know his whereabouts and how he is? The Taoiseach sent him out last Tuesday to present a press conference about the coming Ard-Fheis and the man was but a pale shadow of himself, so shocked was he at the policy platform put forward by this side of the House. The man was aghast at what modest proposals from this side of the House would do to the country. He stated:

We will certainly not be matching the unprecedented scale of the promises given by Fine Gael and Labour. We will promise less because our approach will deliver more.

You have all been conned.

They could hear the polls talking then.

Then looking into the camera, as only the Minister, Deputy Brennan, can do, with all that sincerity, he described himself as "alarmed" at what was happening on this side of the House.

Deputy Mulcahy is also absent. He said: "I urge the Taoiseach to stand firm; no tax cuts and no more spending to put the economy at risk". I saw Deputy Mulcahy on the screen before my eyes on Saturday night, applauding like Mr. Bean on speed. I wish to ask the Taoiseach about the impact on the Minister, Deputy Brennan, of the Niagara of promises the Taoiseach unleashed on his unsuspecting Cabinet on Saturday night. There were 53 different commitments, amounting to €300 million per minute. We are fortunate the Taoiseach only had half an hour. What would be the position if he had a full hour?

The Minister for Finance, in more sober terms, also espoused the prudence agenda. He stated that our economic success has not been built on trade alone, that responsible economics, prioritising budgetary balance and debt reduction provide the foundation for our current prosperity. He said that is why Fianna Fáil's proposals for the next five years will be fully costed, fully detailed and fully affordable. Will the Taoiseach say what is the full cost? The Opposition and the people will judge whether they are affordable. What happened the prudence and why did the Taoiseach reverse engines mid-week and take his unsuspecting Ministers by surprise? Why did he promise 2,000 additional gardaí when the hapless Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is in here every day of the week saying there are enough gardaí, that he is happy with the situation and things are under control? What happened prudence the day the music died, on 24 March 2007?

It seems to have affected Deputy Rabbitte greatly.

Affected me — I had the best craic of my life.

I am very touched by the manner in which Deputy Rabbitte——

The Taoiseach must be touched to announce a package like that.

——is concerned about the Minister, Deputy Brennan.

Anybody who is sane would not do so.

The Taoiseach, without interruption.

The Taoiseach must be touched.

I am delighted to know Deputy Rabbitte is so concerned about the Minister, Deputy Brennan, and I will pass on his regards in person.

Was the Minister traumatised at the Ard-Fheis?

What ward is he in?

I thank Deputy Rabbitte for upsetting his usual family and social occasion on Saturday night by staying in to watch me on television. I appreciate that greatly. I read a few weeks ago that one of his undercover agents had discovered that Fianna Fáil was about to cut the tax rate to 18% and that is why Deputy Rabbitte changed the habit of a lifetime from his old days with the Workers' Party and Democratic Left and all his other parties, to go for a new agenda and to propose tax reform.

We declared that, If the economy remains strong, we will cut taxes. As we have done for 20 years, we will continue to reform the taxation system and reduce tax rates, as we have done. We have introduced every single tax reduction, bar the 1% reduction which Deputy Quinn achieved when he was Minister for Finance. We will continue to reduce the higher rate of tax to 40% and we will complete the reform of PRSI by abolishing the ceiling whereby no PRSI is paid on incomes over €49,000. We will halve the full rate of PRSI from 4% to 2%, we will cut the self-employed PRSI rate and will double the home care tax credit. As the Tánaiste stated on a previous occasion, based on his analysis of the number of gardaí needed, we will increase the number. Now that Deputy Rabbitte has changed his long-held view on these issues I would have thought he would be more supportive of our policies. I assure the Deputy these policies work. He used to believe——

——the country was doing well when the debt ratio was 120% and we borrowed heavily. He believed that society was better when we were borrowing billions and raising taxes. I congratulate him for joining us. It took him 20 years but I always knew he was a nice person and that he would come around to my way of thinking some time in my lifetime. I thank him again for his concern for the Minister, Deputy Brennan, who is always very pleased that Deputy Rabbitte takes so much notice of what he does at the weekends and, now, what he says mid-week.

I thank the Taoiseach for his kind compliments. Will he answer the questions for a change? What is the cost of this Niagara of destruction? What is the cost of undermining the social insurance fund? What is the cost of the damage he has done to the confidence of the Minister, Deputy Brennan?

A woman came up to me on the street yesterday and told me that, like myself, she was watching the Taoiseach on Saturday night. She said she thought the Taoiseach's nose would come out through the screen. She said she did not believe a word he said.

Is that the same woman Deputy Rabbitte is always meeting?

The Deputy should stop meeting strange women. They are not good for him.

At the end of all of that, the Taoiseach had time to visit the recycling centre. However, he could not identify the recycling centre to which he went. He certainly goes a long way to recycle when he visits facilities in Drogheda and Wexford. I presume he puts the material to be recycled into the boot of his ministerial Mercedes because he does not have a car of his own and does not drive.

Nobody would believe what the Taoiseach says. He is only short of playing cricket on some spare patch of ground. He jumps on the bandwagon in respect of anything that becomes popular. The only thing he recycles is other people's ideas.

What would be the cost to the social insurance fund? How is it that 2% off the standard rate of tax would cost €1.023 billion and 1% off the marginal rate €211 million? That does not factor in indexation which relates to wages, not the CPI. In addition, it does not take into account the doubling of the carer's tax credit. All of this amounts to €850 million per annum, according to the Taoiseach. During the prudence period the Minister for Finance said everything would be clear and fully costed. I am asking the Taoiseach to indicate the cost of the package he outlined at the weekend. What would be the cost of the income tax changes? By how much would the insurance fund have to be topped up? Is he certain that we would be able to pay social welfare benefits and pensions, particularly in the aftermath of what he has done to the social insurance fund?

What would be the cost of the package outlined by the Taoiseach? Why did he reverse engines mid-week after he had sent out the Ministers for Social and Family Affairs and Finance, Deputies Brennan and Cowen, and informed his backbenchers that it was a matter of steady as she went and that prudence was the way to manage the economy? He threw promises around like confetti. Is it any wonder the woman to whom I referred thinks he is similar to Pinocchio?

The Deputy definitely got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. He has been narky since he entered the House at2.30 p.m.

I wonder why.

I am sorry if either I or the woman whom he met yesterday upset him. However, I assure him that we will provide full costings in respect of the various matters to which he referred. I give him full marks. He has a hard neck to inform me that I have come onside in respect of tax reform.

Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile.

The Deputy made a career——

I asked the Taoiseach to provide costings.

I am answering the Deputy's question.

The Taoiseach is not doing so.

The Deputy made a career for himself, both in the trade union movement and the various parties of which he was a member before becoming a member of that of which he is currently leader——

At least I was in the trade union movement.

Is the Deputy stating I was never in the trade union movement?

Of course, the Taoiseach was not in it. He used to turn up when everything had been resolved in order to claim the credit. I remember that well.

I was in the trade union movement when those involved were plotting to throw the Deputy out of it. I remember that well. The Deputy was closely involved with subversives. Both he and I remember those days.

There are only sitting three days left until Easter. It will get better.

The Deputy was a member of the infamous group to be found in Gardiner Place.

He jumped over the fence.

We will give item by item costings in respect of everything contained in our tax package which remains well within the parameters of what we announced in each budget in the past six or seven years.

The position is the same with regard to the social welfare package.

That is utterly untrue.

The Deputy talks too much. He is aware of that fact.

The social security fund and the pension fund which contains almost €20 billion are both strong. The social insurance fund is at an all-time high. Difficulties would only arise if the Deputy was to get his hands on either fund. He is of the view that long-term plans are a bad idea. He would like to gain access to the funds in order to introduce some crazy initiatives in respect of them.

The Taoiseach would love me to get my hands on them in conjunction with him. That is the problem.

We ensured, from a legislative point of view, that even if we were in government together, the Deputy would not be able to get his hands on them. That is how it will remain. I apologise for ruining the Deputy's weekend. I assure him that the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, is very well.