On the third anniversary of the Fianna Fáil victory we are sliding even deeper into a summer of economic gloom and doom. The manifesto of 1977 raised the expectations of Irish people to an unprecedented level and is having serious repercussions on our economy and our political system. Young people, who were promised a lot in the manifesto thought the goods would be produced. Now that they have not been produced they are becoming very cynical about the whole political system, and I do not blame them. What we at least expect in Irish politics is sincerity. What young people most desire is sincerity and leadership. They are not getting that. Therefore, I believe our democracy is being placed in jeopardy. That is a sad day for Ireland.
In the Fianna Fáil prescription for recovery, contained in the manifesto, we were told that they would campaign to raise employment and output and to lower costs and prices. On both counts Fianna Fáil have failed dramatically. Unemployment at present stands at a registered figure of 97,400. The right to work is a basic human right but it is denied to 97,400 people at present and it will probably be denied to an increased number before the end of the year. Projected figures show that unemployment will reach 105,000 by the end of the year. When Fianna Fáil took office in 1977 they promised us full employment within five years. Deputy Martin O'Donoghue told us that to create employment they would, if necessary, get people to dig the pot holes and fill them again. We now have unemployment and the potholes are an utter disgrace throughout the country, as all Members are aware. That is disastrous for the country because we will be faced once again with the problem of emigration to England and America. Young people, through pressure, will be forced to leave the country. Looking back on our history we can see that when young people went to England and America they found employment but at present there is not any door open in those countries for employment. What do they do? They become outcasts in society because the nation to which they belong cannot provide them with the jobs that they need and have a right to.
I said here in my maiden speech last January that the young people this year would suffer severe job losses because then there was a cut-back in the youth experience programme, in the temporary employment programme and in the temporary maintenance scheme. It was obvious then too that there would be closures of factories and this would lead to heavy redundancies. I asked the Taoiseach that day could he or could he not provide the jobs. I could have answered the question myself. It was obvious that he could not. This year we are faced now, in June, with 50,000 young people entering the work force. Where are they going to get jobs? They find themselves in a catch 22 situation. They cannot get a job because they have not got the experience and they cannot get experience because they have not got a job. Surely this is not justice.
In relation to rising prices this is the biggest joke of all because when the Coalition were in power they were bashed day in and day out with rising prices. They could not control them. They admitted it. Justin Keating took the brunt of the brush and as a result he lost his seat. But I am sure he is quite happy because he did a fantastic job. Deputy O'Malley came out daily in criticism of the then Minister for prices, Deputy Justin Keating. Now we have Mr. O'Malley sitting over there as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism and arrogantly signing daily applications for increased prices. But the worst increase of all is in basic foodstuffs. The price of bread, milk and butter has gone out of all proportion. This hits hardest at the less well off and at the elderly. The elderly in our society are getting a raw deal from the likes of us. I grant that in the budget there was a 25 per cent increase in all social welfare payments. It seemed nice but with inflation now running at 20 per cent what good is it? What good is a 5 per cent increase with the price of electricity jumping every other day and the price of coal jumping every second day? What can they expect? Surely they are entitled to a fire and a little bit of heat after giving their lives to the service of the nation. This morning the Taoiseach said, as he says in every speech, that he is committed to the underprivileged in our society. It is grand to say it; lip service is grand. But how committed is he? How committed are Fianna Fáil to eliminating these injustices. There was only one thing the Taoiseach did which was not constructive; it was destructive, as far as I saw it to the less well off in our society. In the budget he reduced the funds for the combat poverty scheme by 25 per cent. Did he do anything else to relieve the plight of the underprivileged in our society? Not since I came into the Dáil anyway. Surely he could set up a bureau to combat loneliness. Loneliness is one of the greater problems in our society but it is a sad fact of life that the social welfare class have not got the political muscle and they have not got the political voice needed to express their opinions and I can assure the Taoiseach that if they had they would not be in the plight they are in today.
I have been through the education system recently and I can appreciate how rotten the system is. But even in the manifesto Fianna Fáil promised a few things to the people involved in the education system. They said that they would set out in a white paper the lines for future educational development in Ireland. That white paper has been promised and re-promised and now it is supposed to come in September. But like all promises, is this just another hoodwinking session? To the Minister for Education I would like to say that if he is bringing out a white paper on education there are lots of constructive things to which he could open his mind. There is no doubt but that our education system is too academically orientated. The exam pressure that 50,000 people had to endure this year was uncalled for, especially when they have no hope whatsoever of getting a job. What is it all for? I would also suggest to the Minister that perhaps he should do away with the points system and gear the educational system towards the masses. Only 17 per cent of secondary school children enter higher education but the whole system of education is geared towards this 17 per cent. There are many areas which could be developed in education. However, I will admit that if we were to do all the things we would like to do in education we could spend the money of the nation.
The Minister did promise to the national school sector that he would reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools as a top priority particularly in disadvantaged areas. Three years later the Minister has only to come down to Fermoy and I will show him at least 10 classrooms with still over 40 pupils per teacher. This is the sad reality. The Minister also said he would guarantee funds to voluntary schools in the post-primary sector generally. Why then was I, just three weeks ago, called to a meeting of secondary voluntary Catholic schools which were very upset and disappointed because they were not getting adequate capitation grants. Surely this is a failure. Surely the people who are running schools voluntarily deserve cooperation from the Minister. But this does not seem to be happening.
In relation to housing, as a young person I can see the plight of the young people daily. The bridging finances which they are paying for are crippling them and will cripple them forever more. Surely the Taoiseach could intervene and do something for the thousands of young people who will have this on their minds for the rest of their lives. If bridging finance was not running at 18 per cent there would be some chance for these people. Why not take the young people alone and give them some reduction in interest rates for the purpose of building houses.
To come back to the manifesto, of course, that £1,000 grant which was promised to first-time house purchasers is a joke. It was not stated in the manifesto that the people who applied for this grant would have to wait from six months to three years to get it and pay for bridging loans on top of it. Every week I am up here I ring the Department of the Environment to see what is happening to the £1,000 grant for some young couple. I would not do it except that I know the young people are in dire need of the money and the money is not being paid out. Surely the £1,000 that they are entitled to would not be any great loss to the Department but it would mean a lot to the young people who are waiting for it. Another serious inadequacy in our county council loan system is that people under 21 are not entitled to get a county council loan. At 18 people are entitled to a vote; they are entitled to become a member of the Government of the country; they are entitled to get married. But they are not considered mature enough to get a loan even though they can repay it. This is an injustice in our system and it will have to be rectified in the immediate future.
In the six months I have been here the area I am most disappointed with, and the area of greatest failure of the Government, is the area of law reform. Granted, economically speaking, we are in hard times but surely it would not cost much to reform the law? Everybody except, sadly, the Fianna Fáil Party and the Government, is concerned these days with law reform. Deputy Keating's Bill on criminal conversation introduced in the Dáil last February was turned down because Fianna Fáil have too much of a majority, which is bad for this country. Why would the Government not accept this Bill? The Minister said then that the Law Reform Commission would produce a report. We are waiting since 1978 for that report which has not come yet. The people who suffer under this criminal conversation legislation must bear the brunt. It does not matter if we have a three and a half months' summer Recess—these people must continue to suffer
Again in the Seanad the week before last, Senator Hussey's Bill on rape was rejected by the Government who said that they would produce a Bill on rape. They said, 14 months ago, in the Seanad that they would do this as an urgent matter and we are still waiting. I am informing the Minister for Justice in time, in case he feels that he has not been notified, that Young Fine Gael are at present mounting a campaign to abolish the legal status of illegitimacy. It is seven months under way now and we have received numerous signatures throughout the length and breadth of Ireland including many young people. We shall be putting the Bill before the Dáil in autumn, so the Minister cannot say that he has not heard about it. I trust the Minister will not say something ridiculous like "We shall do it in a few months' time, or a year's time, or three or four years' time". What we are trying, as young people, to do is to remove injustice in our society. Leaving the law as it is is not doing that. This legislation on criminal conversation, rape or illegitimacy might not affect any of us in this House, but we represent the views of the people. That is our role as Dáil Deputies. We do not represent ourselves. The Minister for Justice must be a little more concerned about those less fortunate than himself.
We are facing a three-and-a-half months' long summer Recess. In a sense I look forward to it and in another sense I dread to think what this country will be like in three and a half months' time, We had a long Christmas recess and the only result, as far as I could see, was a brief five-minute appearance of the Taoiseach on television delivering a speech telling all of us to tighten our belts, that industrial unrest was costing the country a lot of money. We all know this. The Taoiseach quoted figures for the first quarter of this year and Deputy Lawlor quoted some a few minutes ago for the first quarter of this year. But they never quoted the figures for the second quarter, and there are four quarters in every year.
It would be over-optimistic to expect industrial peace this year. Coming after the long summer recess, I hope we shall get the leadership which we are looking for. I felt that an open-minded Deputy Haughey as Taoiseach would lead this country. He was entitled to, but the miracle worker has failed to perform and this is the general feeling of the public. Where are the goods? What has happened to this country? Is the farmer, the fisherman, the housewife satisfied? I can tell you certainly that young people are not satisfied. The only people satisfied are a few capitalists. The social conscience of our people is not satisfied. Deputy Lawlor suggested a few constructive ideas. Surely, as a Member of the Government party he can infiltrate his ideas into the policies of the Government?
Agriculture is going through a very bad period, the worst I can remember in its history. The confidence of the big farmer, the small farmer, or the in-between farmer is completely lacking. They are losing out financially and, literally, the bank managers are at their backdoors day and night, at least down in East Cork.
