Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Labour Party advocates a new top rate of tax which would mean an effective marginal rate of 59%, which is a reversion to the failed policies of a more socialist past.

Over the next two years we will be spending over €100 billion in this country. Money will be invested in providing services from health to education to enterprise and jobs. We still have 1.8 million people at work - developing industries, producing the exports and services which will make our nation thrive.

External confidence in Ireland is returning. It is that same confidence that Intel has shown in investing more in Ireland through its Open Lab initiative a fortnight ago. It is that same confidence shown by those who invest in our capacity as a country by buying our Government bonds. They would not be buying these if they did not have confidence in our capacity to recover and did not believe we possess the will to do so.

At the Global Conference in Farmleigh, speaker after speaker expressed confidence in Ireland to trade her way out of this recession. These were not starry-eyed returned emigrants; they were hard-nosed business people who have seen the ebbs and flows of economies all over the world. We live in a competitive global environment but we also should not forget that our Irishness gives us a distinct selling point in the world today. With an Irish Diaspora of over 80 million people claiming Irish descent, we have a natural worldwide network to tap into. We have experienced people who have dealt at the highest level of business internationally and built companies, developed products and opened markets the world over.

We must support these people now as they are the ones who will create the jobs we need to get our country moving again. We have the ability to turn the corner. The older people among us will have seen many ups and downs in their lifetime and know that, for all our difficulties, the vast majority of us are much better off today. With appropriate adjustment and proper appreciation, new opportunities and new ways of working, we have the assets and the ability to spring back and to move forward again. The economic and social progress we have made is something to be proud of. Our collective job is to restore momentum with the stimulus to go forward on a new and sounder footing.

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