Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I join in the welcome to the Tánaiste and I congratulate him on a number of landmark successes at European level in recent weeks. I warmly commend the Tánaiste on the impact of these decisions on the lives of people here, which people may not fully recognise immediately. The impact will be palpable and real over the coming years.

I refer to some of the successes. Nothing has caused more angst and annoyance among ordinary people than banking bonuses. Nothing has been so irksome and it has alienated people from the Government and democracy. It is great that the Tánaiste achieved a breakthrough on banking bonuses and perhaps he can elaborate on how it translates to reality and the caps that apply. People outside the room would like to hear it loud and clear. Nothing has come up more often than that issue for the people I met over the past year. People have a sense of annoyance and frustration that those who played a pivotal role in destroying the country received bonuses for doing so. It is a real issue.

While that issue resonates with many people, I believe the youth guarantee is more important. Dealing with youth unemployment is a challenge for all of us. Is the Tánaiste optimistic that Ireland will secure an adequate amount of the roughly €6 billion available? Is the Tánaiste optimistic that we can implement the youth guarantee here? I know he is committed. I was heartened to read an opinion piece in one of the newspapers yesterday, written by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, which mentioned that in Finland, where this was previously introduced, the output had been tremendous in terms of job creation. I ask the Tánaiste to comment on that. Is he optimistic that it can be implemented in Ireland and that it can create a permanent change in unemployment?

We are told there is considerable opposition in the European Parliament to the budget as proposed. The successful negotiation of the multi-annual financial framework agreement for the coming seven years is mega and the Common Agricultural Policy aspect of it is particularly important in my area. How optimistic is the Tánaiste that he will get it through the European Parliament in the face of considerable opposition?