Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach will this morning have seen the verdict by Standard & Poors' on the Government's handling of the economy, and its analysis was damning. It argued that even were the global economy to improve in 2010, Ireland would be left behind because of a seriously damaged banking system and a calamitous loss of competitiveness over the past five years. As a result, it states there will be little or no growth in the economy before 2012. Effectively, Ireland has been demoted from the first division of European economies.

This obviously will mean credit shortages, insurance indebtedness and that it will be impossible, from this perspective, to export our way out of this recession. I have been informed that this downgrade could cost €200 million this year and somewhere between €400 million and €1 billion next year. What is the Government's assessment of the cost of the downgrade by Standard & Poor's? Has the NTMA provided its analysis or verdict to the Government on the cost of this downgrading?

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