I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for agreeing to share his time. I wish to share my time with Deputy Ferris.
The motion aptly states that the programme for Government should set the agenda for the nation for the five year period for which the Government is supposed to be in power, identify priorities and chart clear timetables. I agree with that. The Government's amendment states that it welcomes "the Programme for Government agreed by the parties in Government" and that it is "based on the manifestos endorsed by the electorate". There is a contradiction in that some of the contents of the manifestos were specific while other parts were general. That is part of the problem with the programme for Government. It is very much a curate's egg.
I want to focus on what I regard as the greatest fraud perpetrated on the people in relation to one specific area of An Agreed Programme for Government. This is the health issue, which is not specific in the programme although the manifesto that was put to the people was very specific. It was the single biggest issue that exercised the minds of the people during the course of the election and a large number of Independent candidates were elected to this House on the health issue.
The Fianna Fáil manifesto stated categorically that it would permanently end waiting lists in all our hospitals within two years through a combination of bed capacity, primary care, secondary care and targeted reform initiatives. That is extremely specific and that is what the electorate bought into. It is a scandal to say that An Agreed Programme for Government is based on the manifestos endorsed by the electorate and leave out the specifics. If one is specific in one's manifestos, one must be specific in one's programme. Fianna Fáil has done a very great injustice by immediately after the election going into Government with what is very much a right-wing party, the Progressive Democrats. We will get more of the same, but they are not now prepared to be specific about the delivery of what they promised specifically to the electorate.
The same is true in the case of another important area of service, housing. The scandal of homelessness trebled under the previous Administration and we are awaiting the outcome of the recent survey, about which all the indications are that there is a considerable increase again in the number of people who are homeless. Many of these homeless people took part in the anti-drugs march on the streets today. They encounter difficulties finding shelter in any circumstances, but this is a much wider issue. Few young people can afford to purchase a home at present and An Agreed Programme for Govern ment does not contain specific details on how the Government will deal with the other scandal of the unprecedented prosperity in our country over the past five years but nothing to show for it in terms of providing basic services to the people.
The last budget surplus was induced by sleight of hand. It is sad that the previous Government, which came into power in 1997 after the leader of my party, who was then Minister for Finance, had delivered the first surplus budget, left us with a much weakened economy and a budget which, when properly analysed, was not in surplus. It left an economy so weakened that our rate of inflation is more than double the European average, tax returns have fallen very low and we are not likely to reach budget targets. The Government has given no figures on increased spending in its programme and there is no budgeting whatsoever for benchmarking which is coming down the road at the end of the month. One commentator, Senator O'Toole, declared that benchmarking is equivalent to an ATM. The Government never corrected him and allowed expectations to rise at an inordinate rate. It has not put in place a budgeting mechanism to deal with benchmarking.
An Agreed Programme for Government has very little to offer. It contains very few specifics. Where there were specifics in the manifestos, they have been left out in the programme. I do not expect to see much delivery of essential services, which determine a better quality of life for the people of this country, during the term of office of the Government.