Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I apologise to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for engaging in any direct conversational way.

I am trying to deal with Deputy Higgins's questions. He raised the macroeconomic forecasts of the ESRI. I understand it will publish a document tomorrow. However, the position is incontestable that there is a substantial gap between what the State receives and what the State spends and that what the State will have to spend in the years ahead on banking is a small fraction of that. There is an obligation, therefore, on all of us in this House to reflect on that gap and to see what we are going to do about it. In reflecting on that, the question of the prospect for growth must be taken into account and, in the original plan submitted to Brussels, clearly, an assumption was made about growth, not this year because this year's forecast has proved to be correct, but next year and next year's forecast and the forecast for the ensuing year are seen at this stage to be on the optimistic side. That is the primary reason a steeper correction will have to be conducted this year and that is the primary reason the markets see.

That is why to return to the markets and to borrow - we all want to borrow on the markets to maintain the State services at a certain reasonable level - it will be essential to have a credible financial track way, not just for next year but for the next four years. That is a current obligation of the Government and not, as the Deputy's leader has suggested, some attempt to usurp the mandate of the people or the mandate of the next government. That is a clear and present duty for an Irish Government to preform and if an Irish Government did not do so, it would be faced with a worse correction to execute immediately and no credible plan for an exit.

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