Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

Does the Minister agree he must borrow €18.4 billion to balance the public finances in the coming year? Since the Government's guarantee scheme for the banks was introduced in September, the cost of Government borrowing increased by 0.6%. The borrowing of €18.4 billion will therefore give rise to an additional cost of €91 million in interest payments. The Minister has devalued the international credit worthiness of the Irish economy. The reasons, as already stated by the Minister, include the state of the public finances. The Government has not made the critical hard decisions. In light of the bank guarantee scheme and the worry in the financial markets over the need for capitalisation of the banks by the Government, it is critical that the Minister introduce proper reform measures. He will be borrowing in the order of over 35% to ensure a current budget balance. I suggest he look at this figures again.

With a view to lowering the cost of State borrowing, what does the Minister propose to do to inspire confidence in the international market in terms of the state of the public finances, the bank guarantee scheme and the capitalisation of the banks?

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