Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister is not addressing the point I am making. The Minister is right. There is some growth in the American economy, in Asia and so on, although there are worrying signs of what could happen in Asia. The difference between the United States and Asia is that stimulus is taking place in the United States and investment is taking place in Asia. In contrast, in Europe the austerity policy is being applied. We are cutting back on investment and spending, the European market is contracting, unemployment is rising and Britain and Europe are our biggest trading partners. Looking at the macro situation, it is evident that the policy being pursued by European governments, including this Government, is failing Europe, driving it further into recession and guaranteeing at best that we do nothing to make a dent on the enormous unemployment crisis and at worst that we are making the unemployment crisis even deeper. Is not that what is happening in Europe?