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

These rules, as with any others, have to be kept under review. We have to see if they fit the needs of an economy at any point in time, in this case the European economy. This could be an area in which we have different views but I contend that many of the objectives contained in the fiscal rules are appropriate and necessary for our economy. To have a deficit below 3% and a debt as a percentage of our national income that is below 60% are sensible choices for our economy. Even if the fiscal rules were not there, they are good, sensible choices for a small, open economy that has a currency but does not print its own currency. That being said, we had low debt levels and low deficit levels before the crisis began and all these things unravelled with shocking speed. I would never say those things on their own provide full insulation in the uncertain waters we are working our way through. They are an essential part of what insulation and security looks like for an open economy like Ireland. Although I welcome that for a number of years under the fiscal rules capital expenditure has been treated differently from current expenditure, I have indicated we will continue to look for recognition of the needs of the Irish economy. The objectives of the fiscal rules are sensible and appropriate for Ireland. While we have all gone through a very difficult period at huge social cost, we now have a eurozone and eurozone economy that is growing. At the peak of the difficulties, we had over 20 eurozone member states in the excessive deficit procedure. We now have around four or five.