Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contribution. To continue the theme regarding the causes and limitations of austerity, if financial markets will not lend to a country, or will only lend at a rate which is too expensive for the country, what are the choices open to it? We need to distinguish between countries which have access to financial markets and countries which do not. The policy choices available to both types of country are fundamentally and gigantically different. In the discussion we have on austerity as a policy choice, will the witnesses comment on the choices open to a country which cannot afford to borrow from the financial markets?

To dwell on the Cypriot experience, it appears to indicate a euro in Cyprus is not worth the same as a euro in Ireland, France or other countries because of the various events that have occurred since. Do the witnesses agree with this assessment? If so, and they, as I do, believe it is a problem, how do we fix it?

What do the witnesses see as being the obstacles to generating the common fiscal space we have discussed? The big development of recent months has been the extension of the recession to countries which thought they were immune. There is clearly a need for a demand stimulus. To this point some have believed fiscal policy co-ordination must mean austerity for everybody. What needs to happen to generate the common fiscal capacity mentioned by the witnesses?