Does the Minister realise how much fear and anger there is in the country at this time? There is fear in the hearts of ordinary people that they will be pushed over the edge into poverty with cuts in child benefit, the imposition of property taxes and water charges, as well as more hikes in mortgage interest this week. There is anger that this should happen at the same time that €1 billion is handed over to unsecured bondholders in Allied Irish Banks, and at the same time the Minister for Health has torn up the criteria for locating primary care centres that prioritised areas of deprivation and instead bumped up locations in his own constituency to the benefit of a Fine Gael supporter, Mr. Murphy, who owns the land on which the centre is to be located.

The Deputy should be careful about using people's names in the Chamber.

The action would also benefit another Fine Gael supporter who gave a political donation to a Minister of State, Deputy Creighton.

The Deputy has all the facts.

Is this not reminiscent of the Fianna Fáil sleaze that the Government would have denounced so quickly a few years ago? Does the picture of the Minister, Deputy Reilly, with Mr. Murphy not look reminiscent of the pictures of Mr. Brian Cowen with Mr. FitzPatrick?

Pictures are not allowed in the Chamber.

They are for the Deputy's bedroom wall.

Is this not the sleaze that we thought would be left behind? It seems it has returned with a vengeance. Is this not proof that yet again, as with the last Government, we have a Government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich while ordinary people are being slaughtered with cuts and austerity. What is the Labour Party doing propping up a Government like this?

Hear, hear.

Richie Rich.

The Deputy has spoken about the fear and worry which people have across this country and I understand what he is saying. We have a right to be fearful because of the state in which this country found itself over 18 months ago.

What about the state it is in now?

Just press "play".

Fast forward.

Let me answer. Deputy Boyd Barrett constantly railed against the adjustments, corrections and additional costs being imposed on this country by the troika because we lost our economic sovereignty. So far this year we have borrowed €11 billion, and we will probably have to borrow another €4.5 billion. Nobody else in the world will lend us money at rates we can afford and we are slowly, painfully but surely crawling back. It is hurtful but what is even more hurtful is that people like the Deputy and his colleagues incite resistance, confuse facts with fiction-----

The Minister was fairly good at that. He told a tale outside the gates of Trinity College.

-----and attempt to say that there is-----

He scared the students.

I do not need any help, Mattie.

He tried to play us.

What about the student fees?

Did that not instil fear and confusion?

Will the Deputies allow the Minister to respond?

There is a seat up the back for Deputy McGrath.

They attempt to say there is another way and the cuts can be avoided or we do not have to repay the €1 billion. The terms of the deal with the only group in town that will lend us the money is that we cannot burn the bondholders.

That is untrue. That is absolutely untrue.

It would cost nothing to stop cronyism. It is free to do it.

Labour stated it would burn the lot of them.

It is an outrageous statement to make.

It is not just us who are inciting protests. This week, in The Irish Times, Mr. Paul Krugman, the well known and respected economist-----

We know who he is.

-----stated that the protestors in Greece, Spain and elsewhere in Europe who resisted what he termed "cruel" austerity were absolutely right.

Hear, hear.

He argued that the troika is wrong and the policies are unfair, cruel and crippling for the European economy and economies like ours.

That is his view.

Will the Deputy pay his household charge?

Could we have a question?

The Deputy just seems to want to shout.

Does the Minister think people have the right to expect not to have what is displayed in these pictures?

The Deputy should not display pictures. He will not have the chance to finish his question as he will be outside the door if he does that again.

Do people not have the right at least to expect, when cruel austerity is being imposed, cuts in home help, property charges-----

Will the Deputy put his question as he is over his time?

-----and mortgage interest hikes, that a golden circle is not being protected and looked after with what a former Minister has called stroke politics? Do the people not at least have the right to expect that stroke politics would be ended and that the golden circle would be broken up so that it will not only be the poor and the working people who will suffer pain in the recession?

Hear, hear.

What about the gold circle of tax dodgers?

Deputy Boyd Barrett and I share some things in common. We come from the same spectrum of ideological politics of this country.

They come from the same wealthy class.

Deputy Boyd Barrett from his knowledge of history will recall that even Leon Trotsky agreed with Lenin when they went into government-----

When he was in Ireland.

Was he in Ireland?

-----that a new economic policy was necessary to overcome the crisis before they get on the path of righteousness.

That is where we are. That is why we are doing it.