I strongly concur with and support the call by Senator van Turnhout for a debate in this House on forced labour and the exploitation of workers, including migrant domestic workers. I recently attended a conference in UCC on this issue. It is an important issue on which we should have a debate.

We should also have a debate on parties’ election promises. Election manifestos are put before the people and the people vote for parties on the basis of the promises and commitments made.

Like the hospital in Omagh.

When those promises are broken-----

That was terrible. I agree with the Senator.

When those promises are broken, people become disillusioned with politics generally. It was suggested that Members might live in a bubble. Many people outside the House are not just disillusioned with politics, but feel betrayed by parties for which they voted in the hope that those parties would protect them. The clear pre-election promises made on child benefit and college fees have been mentioned, but promises were also made on banking debt and many other issues. When Senator Bacik states that the Government is a coalition of two parties and a compromise of policies-----

That is what coalition is about. That is democracy.

Senator Cullinane to continue, please, without interruption.

It is a compromise-----

The Senator might not like it.

I like it, but it is a compromise of broken promises, as both Fine Gael and the Labour Party have broken promises. The Sinn Féin Party will table a motion of no confidence in the Dáil against the Government. The Government has let down the people on the three critical issues that face the State: to have a proper and sustainable deal on the banking debt-----

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

-----to have a job strategy that will get people back to work - rather than the Minister for Social Protection cutting people's welfare in terms of secondary benefits such as back-to-school grants, footwear and clothing allowances and child benefit, the Government should be trying to get people back to work; and to have a fair budget. This was not a fair budget. I point out to the Leader that we need to have a debate in the House on the election promises and election manifestos which were put before the people of the State and have been torn up since the general election by the parties in government.

Not true.

We are not flying the Union Jack over Leinster House.

Absolutely not.