Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to country-specific proposals that were under consideration. There is a trauma associated with outside bodies establishing the agenda for recovery in recent years, but we have now emerged from that. In this light and instead of pursuing an agenda driven by the Council of Ministers and the Commission, does the Government believe there is merit in Ireland establishing its own agenda across a range of departmental initiatives, implementing it with the same rigour and submitting it as the country's post-bailout management programme? Psychologically, there is something about being in control of our own destiny and establishing the next steps to managing our emergence, our recovery and, hopefully, our march towards prosperity instead of perceiving that the agenda is again being established by outside agencies. A number of issues are involved, for example, youth unemployment and taxation, which the Taoiseach referred to in terms of how it can be constructed to deliver recovery. The deficit reduction remains the overwhelming issue that we must meet, but we should establish Ireland's country-specific proposals and control the agenda instead of letting the agenda be determined by others, as happened during the bailout.