Tomorrow is an important day for the future of the House. Now that academics, campaign groups, political parties and the rest of the political classes have completed their debate, the people will have their say tomorrow. I hope they will come out in large numbers to vote in the referendums on the future of the Seanad and the establishment of a new court of appeal. Whatever they decide in both referendums, we will accept the outcome.

I suspect that, outside the four walls of this Chamber, people are more concerned about what the upcoming budget will entail for them and their families. I welcome the news that the adjustment will be less than €3.1 billion. The previous two budgets introduced by this Government and the previous four budgets introduced by its predecessor have forced more people into poverty and out of work. As a result of the poor decisions that were made in those budgets, many people have been forced to emigrate. In the past two years, I have called for genuine, proper discussions and debates on the alternative budget proposals of Opposition political parties and groups outside the Houses which make submissions on alternative budget measures.

We have not had that and that, to me, would be real and genuine political reform. We must move beyond arriving at budget day and being presented with a fait accompli and not having the genuine robust debate that we need to have on budget day.

Our party was asked to submit our alternative budget to the Government and we did so. It has been fully costed. Again, we will present a fairer way to deal with the economic crisis and address our deficit by giving working families a break, the families who have disproportionately borne the brunt of the last number of budgets, protecting public services and, more important, getting people back to work.

We need to have the debate on unemployment and emigration again. While it is welcome that the live register figures have fallen, the reality is that three times as many people have left this State during the past three months than have come off the live register. That is the reality. It is a fact and we need to have a debate on that issue.

That is not true. It is absolutely not true.

Perhaps Senator David Cullinane should check his figures before he puts them forward. I wish to respond to Senator Terry Leyden's remarks about wanting to dissolve the Government and so on and so forth. That is a pretty useless thing to be saying at this point. I do not believe anyone would thank us for calling for such a thing at a time like this and Senator Leyden knows that perfectly well. He is simply looking for a headline.

There was a discussion at the Labour Party Parliamentary Party meeting about it yesterday evening.

The Government knows it.

There is work to be done and that is what we will do.

The Labour Party will be wiped out at the next general election.

Senator Leyden, please. Senator Susan O'Keeffe to continue, without interruption.

They should call a general election.

Yes, call a general election.

Senator Susan O'Keeffe to continue, without interruption, please.

I do not believe the future of the Labour Party is what people are interested in.

That is for sure.

What people are interested in is having a country that is better than the country Fianna Fáil left in 2011.

I thank the Leader, Senator Maurice Cummins, for organising the tributes to Seamus Heaney later today. Seamus's wife, Marie, will join us in the Visitors Gallery, and that is important for the Seanad on this day. I can think of no finer way for the Seanad to end its career. Whatever happens tomorrow and whatever the outcome of the referendum, the Seanad will be different next week and this day is a different day for that reason. I can think of no finer way then for all of us to pay tribute today to one of the finest voices and poets of this and the last century.