The Taoiseach was away and he did not have a translator for it so he can smile.

What worries me about the Taoiseach's reply to Deputy Kenny is that he seems to be somewhat in denial and seems to be taking the position on the economy that something will turn up. As I understand, the position is that in the first two months of this year, the State took in almost €700 million less in tax than it did in the first two months of last year and €0.5 billion less than what it had expected to take in.

I wish to address how this affects people. Significant numbers of people have lost their jobs in the first two months of this year. There has been a 30% increase in redundancies, with 11,000 more people on the live register in January than at the beginning of last year. The level of unemployment in January of this year is the highest since 1999. Where is this going? It is all very well to keep throwing out figures and percentages and projections but where is all this going in terms of the lives that people lead in this country?

Last week in the House I raised the fact that money for the homeless services has been frozen, presumably as a result of the tightening revenue situation. Today we have a report that the Health Service Executive is looking for another €300 million in cuts in the health services that are already strained. We had a debate on this subject yesterday. My colleague, Deputy Joan Burton drew attention yesterday to an extraordinary tax break which the Minister for Finance proposes to introduce, whereby he intends to give a tax break to developers for developing private hospices. There is quite a sad irony that we will give tax breaks to people developing private hospices for people dying of cancer in a country where finance cannot be provided to provide them with tests and services in the public health service in the first place. Meanwhile we heard on the radio yesterday our former colleague, Tom Parlon, saying that the building workers, who will be building these hospices, should be paid 30% less.

He will save the country.

We know and understand that tax revenues are dropping. We expect Government to manage this and have a strategy to deal with it. What assurance can the Taoiseach give the House that as this is managed — he used the term "managed" on a number of occasions in his reply to Deputy Kenny — it will not be those who are least able to bear the burden who are asked to take the pain here? We should not have cuts in essential public services, such as the health services. Low-paid workers, including those working on building sites and elsewhere in the economy should not be asked to take pay cuts as they were by Mr. Parlon yesterday morning. If pain must be inflicted it should be inflicted on those who have benefited most. We should not see a recipe for the future of the economy which will continue to give big tax cuts to wealthy people and inflict pain and income cuts on those least able to bear it.

I have said and I repeat it again that the budget day forecasts, both economic and fiscal, have not been changed. The expenditure figures were very generous in the budget. Overall current spending is budgeted to increase by approximately €4 billion — that is all for the services area — which is 8% in a difficult year. Capital spending will increase by approximately €1 billion, which is 12%. Obviously with tax revenues down, that puts pressure on the budget. There is no doubt about that, but on a two months basis we have to monitor that as the year goes on. I have specified the areas in which tax is down.

On the tax break, I am sure the Deputy, like everybody else, was lobbied by the charitable groups around the country, which have done such a good job in developing hospices of which we only have a few, as they want to try to develop more. They wanted to get a tax break to help them develop more hospices. It does not seem an unreasonable thing. We have given tax breaks for a lot of areas over the years and it seems not a bad idea to help those organisations. If the Deputy is against providing those services, that is a point of view.

Is the Taoiseach washing his hands of responsibility?

Deputy Burton is nodding her head against it so I assume that is her policy.

It is just sad that the Taoiseach makes the distinction. These people are on the point of dying.

Let the Taoiseach have his say without interruption.

Definitely Boston not Berlin.