Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

-----but we have in place a plan to take us forward on the path of sustainable economic growth. That plan is working. Unemployment will not be as high as previously forecast, our tax receipts have begun to stabilise, consumer confidence is beginning to revive and our export figures are the healthiest in Europe.

As we begin to emerge from the unrelenting economic gloom of the last 18 months, we need to rediscover our optimism and our self-belief.

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