Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I will do my best, using some fancy footwork, not to repeat the three excellent contributions that have been made. I congratulate the Minister of State on his elevation to office and wish him well. We in this committee will do everything we can to be supportive, and even inspirational from time to time, in the important work he must do.

I have four questions which necessitate something of a preamble. The European institutions have learned one thing from the banking, financial and fiscal crisis that Europe has just come through, and that is the need for decisiveness. From economic, fiscal and speculative points of view, decisiveness and the expectation of a quick and standing decision will always stabilise everything around, markets in particular. I recall the European Central Bank president, Mr. Mario Draghi, made an intervention at a crucial time by saying that whatever needed to be done would be done. That was a clincher. That was not what had happened previously. A great deal of doubtful, negative speculation had followed every crisis, along with a great deal of criticism levelled at the European Union. The euro was supposed to be in decline or dead. Several economies, including the Irish one, were supposed to be in decline or dead. The European institutions were supposedly broken. We got advice from all centres around the table in this very room, as the Chairman will recall.