Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A little. We are doing better than we thought we would. In our current position, if we want to go the extra mile and do the extra job that has to be done, we will have to hit the sector that generates money in the local economy. That is the danger area. It is interesting to note that the IMF and the ECB are not ad idem on this issue. In recent times the head of the IMF and Jean-Claude Juncker had a public disagreement on the issue of whether Greece, for example, should be given greater latitude to achieve its targets. If there is not the potential within the economy to produce what is required to meet the current target, what should one do? The only thing one can do is elongate one's debt in a way that will make it possible for one's target to be met.

I would like to speak about the interesting position the country is in. It is obvious that we have been used by the European Union as a case in point - a living guinea pig - in economic terms. There is no doubt about the ability of the country to recover ground. When there is recovery, it will happen quickly enough. We have to get to the tipping or balancing point where growth begins to kick in again. I refer to the point at which growth does not lead to inflation in the economy or displace people's jobs which are already tenuous but is sufficient to draw people into employment and away from the unemployment register.

I cannot finish without engaging in my usual rant.