Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The situation is entirely different to that which this Government met when it came into office. We were blocked out of the international markets. We had no name, no standing, no credibility, could not borrow money, were in hock up to our necks and had quarterly visits from the troika. Even Deputy Higgins should be glad that we exited the bailout programme in December, the first eurozone country to do so.

Even he should give some recognition to the fact that yesterday five-year moneys were cheaper than those of Great Britain, for the first time in so many years, and very close to American levels. Even Deputy Higgins should understand that the decision by the rating agency Moody's last week has implications in terms of our international standing and attractiveness for further continued investment from sovereign wealth funds that were prohibited from considering Ireland for investment because we did not have adequate rating from the major rating agencies. Even he should understand that the unemployment rate has dropped consistently for 18 months and currently stands at 12.4% as of December 2013. Deputy Higgins may or may not accept the fact that the figures show that 58,000 new jobs were created last year and that the trend is moving in the right direction.

When Deputy Higgins speaks of transparency, he should recognise that Irish Water – Uisce Éireann – has been in before the Committee of Public Accounts and the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, dealing with matters to do with the environment and finance, and will continue to do so as necessary. I understand that at the Committee of Public Accounts the chief executive gave a long, detailed and exhaustive presentation on the service being delivered by expert agencies.

Deputy Higgins should be aware that the closed treasure chest that has been there for so long in respect of section 38 and 39 entities is now being opened by the Government in terms of full transparency as to what went on. The current nauseating controversy surrounding the CRC will be beneficial in the future for charities all over the country because the Government has responded. The Minister for Justice and Equality will appoint a regulator - I hope this will be before the end of February - and a board will be set up to implement the Act properly. Charities that are properly endorsed and produce annual accounts that are published on their websites and by the regulator will have the endorsement of being charities that can and should be supported. In that sense we continue to recognise the importance of the service provided by the personnel who work in the CRC to the patrons who use its services and the many people who contribute to that worthy cause.

I called to the CRC last week on a purely private visit. The young professional staff to whom I spoke are devastated by what happened. The Committee of Public Accounts and all the members thereon have been diligent in the hours they have spent there. It appears they will be busy in the time ahead also. That is about transparency, openness and accountability. We will continue in that mode because it is in the interests of the people.

The situation is very different from what it was three years ago. I hope that in the next 12 months we will see a further improvement both in the capacity of the Irish economy to respond and in people’s living standards. I note the comments today from the Irish League of Credit Unions that at long last more people are in a position to save some money, although not all that we would like to see.

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