Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I refer Deputies to my budget speeches, all of which also set out the downsides. What is clear is that the Department of Finance took forecasting on the conservative side of the equation, rather than taking the most optimistic forecasts available. It has taken this approach under various Ministers of all political ilk and persuasions. The record will show that is the case.

It is all right to suggest, as Deputy Gilmore does, that all of this was foreseeable but it is not correct to suggest that the mid-term prospects for the Irish economy would see us facing the situation we faced in the past two years. There is no doubt that a small, open economy such as Ireland has been greatly and more adversely affected than most, just as other small, open economies such as Singapore and Korea have been affected in terms of a reduction in economic growth. This is because the world downturn has such an impact on countries such as Ireland which produce mostly for export.

The position is simply this. The Deputy mentioned stamp duty. The fact is that his party's position in 2007 was that stamp duty should not be payable on the full amount and the threshold should be extended to €317,500. Stamp duty would only be paid on the amount above this threshold. The Labour Party's position-----

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