Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is one of the issues that one must take into account. Small, open economies are finding the impact more difficult to handle than other economies. That is also a fact.

Economic recovery can be brought about only by a multi-annual approach that indicates the pathway to recovery we can achieve, and that will involve putting the public finances back into order. We must ensure that by 2013 we return to that 3% deficit.

The scale and magnitude of the task is great. It affects every citizen. Government is entitled to take into account all those considerations not because we do not wish to reach the target but because we want to do so in such a way that from year to year the burden of adjustment at each step is such that everybody can bear it. The Opposition wants to be dogmatic and decide to take out X billions regardless of the impact. I know what I said on that occasion.

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