Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the debate that has taken place in the House over the last two days. It is clear from the contributions by Deputies from all sides that there is a recognition of the scale of the difficulties we face. That is encouraging because the manner in which we respond to our current economic difficulties will have a crucial bearing on the length and severity of the downturn.

The agreement the Government has reached with the social partners on a framework for stabilising the public finances means we can move forward on the basis of a shared analysis of the economic crisis we face. I welcome in particular the acceptance by the social partners of the need for immediate expenditure savings of up to €2 billion this year as a credible response to our parlous fiscal position and their commitment to work with the Government over the next five years to bring the general Government deficit below 3%.

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