Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I am sharing time with the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I very much welcome this debate, as it is an opportunity for us, the political leadership of the country, on all sides, to explain to the people what is happening, how we can get out of it and the solutions we can provide. Let us be absolutely honest and clear that we are facing into a real economic storm. We face difficult times, the likes of which we have not seen in at least two decades. We must be honest in defining exactly from where it has come and how we can work our way through it, to provide a course for the people that will give them confidence as we face into difficult economic times.

The difficulties in the economy are categorised by two fundamentally different problems. These are the credit crunch and the lending difficulties we are seeing, as well as higher energy prices — a real crisis. These are the two key driving factors. We should accept that it is both an international and a domestic phenomenon. There are features which are at play internationally, as well as here in Ireland. We should be honest about this.

Let us define the problem first.

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