I express sympathy on behalf of Independents to the people of Boston, where many of the Irish diaspora live. I condemn what happened yesterday and I know no effort will be spared in bringing the perpetrators of that heinous crime to justice. A joyous occasion of sport should always escape warfare.

I am sure Deputy Tom Hayes will not mind if I say that we welcome any political party to Tipperary for an Ard-Fheis.

Hear, hear.

Is the Deputy going back to Fianna Fáil?

Last week, a former IMF mission chief to Ireland, Mr. Ashoka Mody, stated that complete reliance on austerity was not reasonable and the construct for Ireland's rescue was wrong. These are plain and simple words, used in a moment of unusual honesty and humility and confirming what many observers have come to recognise. Austerity works, but only at the expense of hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs and livelihoods, leaving families destroyed.

Of the suggested alternatives, the first choice was to force senior bondholders to bear some of the sovereign debt costs. Is the Tánaiste still here, as we heard the mantra many times from his side of the House? We had the phrase of "Labour's way or Frankfurt's way" off by heart from listening to it. A second choice would have been an offer of concessional official financing, with a third choice of imposing austerity. We know which was taken. The Labour Party Tánaiste may be gone because he is fearful of the text messages he may be receiving about the Croke Park agreement. I will not give an opinion on it but if the unions approve the agreement, it will be by the slightest margin because austerity has not worked. Promises were broken.

Mr. Mody was very honest but the Taoiseach's dismissive reply when he was confronted by the media was to label him as an old fuddy-duddy who has retired. We all know what was the position. These political measures are not working so will the Taoiseach at this late stage change tack and accept that the price of austerity is too high? It is crippling our economy and our families so will the Taoiseach give some chink of hope or light to our young people, ordinary workers, the so-called middle class and business people? They are not being helped in any way and austerity is clearly crippling our economy.

Deputy Mattie McGrath is aware of the programme set out by the Government to factor in a €300 million saving for this year and €1 billion by 2015. The Deputy is also aware of the challenges faced by many people. The alternative, as Deputy Mattie McGrath is aware, would be to have to consider the implications of the issue for front-line services. For that reason, the Government set out its programme. The ballot results will be announced very shortly by the unions.

It has been rejected.

SIPTU has rejected it.

The Government will reflect on the implications of that decision, with the bottom line being that the inclusion of €300 million this year stands. The Government will reflect on the outcome of the ballot as declared.

Will there be extra time?

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply but, sadly, it reminds me of something I read during the week about how getting worse more slowly is not the same as getting better. It is time for the Taoiseach to learn that message. He saw the books before the last election and knew the situation but he has heaped austerity upon austerity. People cannot take any more and when more is taken from people's pockets, they have less to spend or contribute via taxation. The economy is slowing as a result. There is no point in dismissing the views of those who tell us the obvious conclusion that austerity has failed, as it has in other countries.

I welcome the extension given in repaying our debt but the bottom line is that the gross sum is morally wrong and crippling. The senior bondholders emerged from the process scot free and, to make it worse, I learned recently that all those people had their reckless investments insured, so they would have been safe anyway. We are being held up as the poster boys of Europe and a model for other countries but the price is too high. When will the Taoiseach realise that? Must there be another couple of dozen Labour Party backbenchers on this side of the House before he listens and changes his ways in the interest of saving our country?

The Deputy is well aware that given the circumstances inherited by the Government when it entered office-----

The old mantra.

-----the negotiations which have taken place at a European level have resulted in the acceptance by the European Central Bank of Ireland's programme, which will save the country €20 billion in borrowing over the next ten years. The negotiations at European level have also resulted in the drop in interest rates for the country from over 14% to less than 4%. We have also seen the ending of the bank guarantee and the sale of Irish Life. The international economy is seeing Ireland as having credibility and integrity.

The problem and challenge for everybody is that although growth figures are positive this year compared to many other European countries, they still do not have the impact I would like to see on the local economy. The private sector is now returning 1,000 new jobs every month but the Government has taken a range of decisions to help small and medium enterprises by changing the structures of the banks and requiring new lending targets for each of the pillar banks of €4 billion this year.

That is a fiction.

We have introduced a micro-finance agency for very small operators and a partial loan credit guarantee. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced a €2.5 billion stimulus fund last year for a range of infrastructure, such as the facilities at Grangegorman, some road developments, schools, primary care centres, legal buildings and so on. The Government this morning decided to establish NewERA on a statutory basis, allowing the transfer of the National Pensions Reserve Fund facilities and providing an opportunity for the Government to discuss how best to create employment.

We had a specific Cabinet meeting on jobs and 17 particular actions were identified at it that will make an impact on the live register quickly. We will follow those through assiduously and promptly.

We all want to see opportunities for people to have employment. The challenge for this Oireachtas and this Government is to deal with a restoration of confidence in our indigenous economy. The international economy is growing strongly, exports are thriving and the corporate tax rate is stable and being retained at 12.5%. The IDA will have its best year in over a decade this year. The challenge for us all is to be creative and imaginative in the way we can impact on the creation of jobs all over the country in the context of developing the local economy. That is why the Government continues to make a range of opportunities available for access to credit for small and medium enterprises and for opportunities like the JobBridge scheme and the VAT reduction, so people can have that opportunity to get out to work and contribute in their own personal lives and the local economy. Clearly the other element of that is the insolvency agency coming on board to deal with those in mortgage distress to allow them to contribute to their local economy.