Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That may not be right at all. It might be the opposite. If we do not keep to the fiscal targets we may blow the economy. We may have an extra 50,000 people out of work and an economy going down the hill. Deputy Doherty's argument is that it will benefit the people if we ease up. That is not proven; it is simply a Sinn Féin theory. There is not a shred of evidence to suggest that it is correct. If we had eased up last year, would it have worked? Of course not. We would be in a worse position now. What we have done is working. The reason we are in a good position is that we have pursued those policies.