Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

It is important therefore to focus on what united the voters as they went to the polls. The people of this country want an end to the recession as well as a restoration of their jobs, businesses, communities, homes and factories. Many Members of this House share the analysis of what created the boom and what destroyed the economy. I was one of those who, over a long period of years in the Dáil, identified things like ridiculous tax breaks that helped to create the bubble. I have spoken previously about how, when Ireland entered the eurozone, there were no checks or balances by the emerging European Central Bank on economies having a runaway credit bubble. Unfortunately, every man, woman and child has inherited the consequences.

The Government is determined to restore the economy, as well as rebuilding employment, businesses and economic activity generally. That includes returning to traditional areas of economic activity such as tourism and other indigenous industries. Our own resources should be utilised to get people working again. I am disappointed that some speakers seem to believe that most people actively seek a life which is going to become dependent on social welfare income support over a long period. Most people I know, whether young or old, want a job or to run their own business. They want to contribute to social welfare in their working years, so that if they fall on hard times and become unemployed they can avail of it. An extraordinary number of people are currently unemployed or have lost their businesses. They have little social welfare protection because they were self-employed. They never expected not to be working because their businesses failed.

The challenge for the Government, and for every Member of this House, is to work on a detailed plan to recreate employment, small and medium enterprises, and indigenous Irish businesses. By and large, the internationally-traded sector in goods and services is doing well. It does not depend on Irish banks for banking facilities. They are not like an indigenous Irish company or a small and medium enterprise. They are not popping down to the local branch of one of our big banks seeking credit. No matter what the banks are saying about the flow of credit, people in business - whether a large operation or a small indigenous one - are finding that their credit lines are either not available or are squeezed to the point where firms are hanging on by their fingernails. Alternatively, they find that facilities are being changed in title and large extra charges are being made because something which was an overdraft becomes a term loan and so on. Facilitation fees as well as interest rates are becoming even higher.

As regards the troika's support for Ireland, including the IMF, I spoke about the renegotiation at length in the course of the election. I have always said that it is a marathon and not a sprint. The Fianna Fáil Government signed up to an extremely detailed programme. Anyone who is familiar with the history of the IMF in particular will know that once such a programme is entered into, getting out of it is a long-term process lasting several years. Members of this House have spoken casually about default, but I wish they had had the experience of living in a country that defaulted entirely on its international obligations. This House would be well served by having a detailed debate on what exactly is meant by default and what the consequences would be for businesses in Ireland, particularly the small and medium enterprises.

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