One does not seem to be able to turn on any television or radio station without hearing a debate on whether taxes should be cut or public spending increased. It is extraordinary but I suppose symptomatic of the failure within the media that at no stage have I heard anyone being questioned about tackling unnecessary or wasteful public expenditure. I have argued it here before, and an ideal opportunity has been missed by the Government in the current economic crisis, but there is a need to have a fairly good cost-efficiency analysis across all public services. Anyone from a business background knows that wasteful expenditure builds up in the best of managed organisations. It can be anywhere from 10% to 20%. I have spoken to people in the public service over many years. As a rule of thumb, I would say we could save €4 billion if we energetically and systematically tackled waste. It would be roughly 10%. Many public officials have told me I am wrong because I am underestimating it. They tell me it would be as high as 20%. A target should be set. Therein lies the solution to improving public services. I cannot understand why a Government elected on a platform of making serious public service reform has, in effect, done very little in this regard. I spoke to a union official approximately four or five years ago who was actively involved in and representative of many people working in the public service. I asked him for his assessment of management in the public service.

He looked at me and said there was no management in the public service, that there were only grades.

There are flaws that have not been addressed and need to be in the interests of our fiscal position. The Comptroller and Auditor General does a decent job, but he is only skimming over the surface in terms of what has been wasted. If we were to drill down, a lot of money could be saved. Officials at all levels need to accept greater accountability and responsibility and we need to develop a meritocracy in the public service. We probably do not have time to have a debate on this matter, but I appeal to the incoming Government, regardless of who will find themselves in key positions in the Cabinet, to make dealing with it a priority. Only when we have an efficient and cost-effective public service will we be able go to the people and say we need to increase taxes. I ask the Leader to take this on board and convey it to Ministers.

The Government needs to look at curtailing the size of apartments. We have seen on our television screens in "Rebellion", the drama set in 1916, the tenements in which people lived. We should not be trying to reinvent that accommodation. There was no need to reduce the minimum size of apartments. All the Government is doing, in effect, is contributing to the profits of builders and disadvantaging those who purchase these apartments.