Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan that €1.3 billion to €1.7 billion a year in cash terms is a significant figure. It is a most regrettable figure. However, apart from that figure, the gap this year is €19 billion. The gap between State receipts and expenditures, leaving the issue of the banks aside, is a very wide one. The figure speaks for itself.

I assure the Deputy that I received plenty of expert advice on all of those matters, both on employment, deflation, inflation and our economic prospects and forecasts. The question of whether an adjustment is required and the impact an adjustment has on growth is a very important one. She should note that the adjustment last year of €4 billion did not lead to a decline in our economy this year. That is striking. Notwithstanding the fact that there was substantial economic decline in 2009 with a 10% drop in GNP, the further €4 billion of cuts that were introduced last year did not cause any economic decline. That was not the position of her party at the time of the last budget. The Labour Party view is that it was a deflationary budget but it did not have that consequence.

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