The Cathaoirleach asked whether Senator Leyden was speechless. Government Members are speechless listening to the drivel and nonsense coming out of Fianna Fáil Members.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

I have. Fianna Fáil is the republican party but it should probably be renamed the tabloid party.

The Senator was a member once.

I was but I saw the light in 2001 and left.

That was not the reason the Senator left.

Senator Gilroy to continue, without interruption. Does he have a question for the Leader?

The populism of Fianna Fáil, which was well articulated by Senator Darragh O'Brien, makes me think all its members have turned into 'Ming' with a Dublin accent. Senator Leyden and others betrayed their real feelings about the budget when they said the Labour Party, in particular, will be wiped out at the next election. So be it if we are, because the Labour Party does not put party politics ahead of the good of the country, unlike other parties, which are clearly indicating they do.

Throughout my political career, no member of the Labour Party has put his or her career first.

The Senator would not be the first to slip off the high moral ground.

We want to get the country and the economy back on track. The Diarmuid Mac Murchadas of Fianna Fáil invited the IMF to the country. We will not shirk from the difficult decisions that must be made. If it damages the Labour Party and individual careers, so be it. That is the price we will pay. I do not have a question for the Leader but I thought it necessary to make that point.

I agree that one or two items in the budget may need to be re-examined, such as-----

Child benefit.

I agree with the Senator about child benefit at the lower level, certainly.

Senator Gilroy to continue, without interruption.

We should take a look at the respite care grant. Those measures seem to be particularly harsh and if anything can be done, the Labour Party will do it.

The House debated the budget for two hours last night but that was not nearly enough time. I hope there will be an opportunity to have a more comprehensive debate next week on the fallout from the budget when we can deal with some of the negative details. I acknowledge there are positive aspects to the budget but many of its elements can be summarised as regressive. I do not intend to make a political point. We can all throw political points across the floor but the people who will suffer as a result of the budget are the individuals on lower incomes, in particular, lower-income families and mothers. The House will debate the X case and abortion this evening. Unfortunately, the unborn child is affected in this budget because the average maternity benefit will be cut by €800 as a result of a taxation measure introduced in the budget. The unborn child will be paying €800. That is a disgrace. Child benefit will be protected but an unborn child is targeted-----

Does the Senator have a question?

Once the child comes into the world he or she will also be targeted. I do not know how any political party can attack both the unborn and the newly born. It is not right.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Yes, I have. We need to have a debate on some of the issues. I agree with Senator Gilroy that elements of the budget need to be revisited. I hope the Fine Gael and Labour Party backbenchers will stand up for their convictions and challenge their own Ministers to row back on issues such as PRSI, maternity benefit, the respite care grant, child benefit-----

The Senator is over time.

Those are the facts. I call on the Leader to facilitate a debate next week with the Minister for Finance. Tuesday would be my preferred date. We need to discuss the fallout from the budget in some detail.