Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Papers are being prepared for it all the time in terms of what is happening with ECOFIN and the banking situation so that we can politically analyse it. One of the shocking deficiencies I found was during negotiations for the programme for Government, when Fine Gael and the Labour Party were briefed separately by the main institutions of the State on the finance side. This included the Department of Finance, the National Treasury Management Agency and the Central Bank. There was a lack of co-ordination at a time of crisis. There was no common agenda or hymn sheet, nor was there a common external message going out to our partners through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. That was hugely damaging. It was one of the compelling reasons to have the creation of the economic management council so that everyone is on message. The strategy is known to everyone and the step-by-step, incremental progress is known to everyone as a common endeavour. That has changed the landscape, particularly for the external view of us.

All ambassadors were called home shortly after the formation of the Government to be told the message and the strategy. That is an ongoing process. As Ministers visit European capitals, particularly those involved in key decision-making for us, we all know the hymn sheet. We know where we are, the key players and the points we need to press home. It has worked remarkably well for us.