Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

When I heard the Minister's offering earlier I was reminded of a song that was often sung when I was a child, God save Ireland said the Heroes. God needs to look kindly on Ireland because what the Minister for Finance offered today and what the Taoiseach offered yesterday is so incomplete and lacking in vision. It is so unsure and uncertain because we have been down this road of adjustment, saving the banks, early budgets, rescue plans and recovery proposals so many times since that night in late September 2008 when the two Brians rushed to save Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Nationwide and the others. With so many rescue bids I have, unfortunately, concluded the lack of a strategy or a clearly thought out programme by the Government will bring this country into a lost zombie decade, reflected in the unemployment figures announced by the Taoiseach this morning.

I remind the Minister that last September I proposed the banking rescue should follow the Swedish model.

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