Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the fact that Sinn Féin has indicated it will publish that plan. I hope other parties will do likewise and that the Government will be in a position to put its plans forward so that the House can have a real and balanced debate. The scale of the commitment we have made in the House to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP in 2014, will be a very difficult one. As has been said by many speakers today, it equates to an adjustment of €15 billion over the next four years. We do not need to tell anybody either inside or outside the House how big a challenge this will be but it is a challenge we must manage and to which we must face up as a country. The process will not be painless nor can it be painless, despite what some people might like the public to believe, but it is manageable. If I had been told two years' ago in 2008 when the scale of this crisis began to emerge in Ireland and around the globe, that just two years' later I would be able to tell this House that we had €14 billion of adjustments in that two-year period, I would not have believed it. That is the scale and the measure of what has already been achieved. At a time when people are worried and concerned and many are probably depressed about the situation, we should take some heart from how people have responded. The public has shown its mettle. People have dealt with very difficult decisions which the Government has had to take. What has happened in the recent couple of years underlines the fact that people will accept difficult decisions if they understand them, if they think they are fair and if they think they are the right decisions for the country in the longer term. People know that without the decisions taken by the Government, the country's situation would be significantly worse than it is. If we had not taken those decisions, the country would lack any credibility when trying to convince the markets that we are capable and willing to work out our own affairs. This message has to be constantly repeated. We have to show by example that we are prepared to take on the difficult decisions.

It is most important that having taken those difficult decisions, we continue on a credible path to show we propose to meet this commitment of a 3% deficit in 2014. This will be evident in the four-year budgetary and growth plan to be announced early in November. This will incorporate annual measures and information. It will not make pretty reading as it will involve a number of very difficult decisions and difficult measures will be required to be implemented. The certainty it will bring will help people to plan for the future.

The four-year plan will need to strike the correct balance between reducing the deficit through targeted spending cuts, increasing taxation, obviously, and trying to put in place a package to allow for growth in the economy. This is a very delicate balance. I agree with the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party that we must try to strike the correct and delicate balance between the spending reductions and cuts and increases in taxation. We need to try to do that in a way that does not hinder growth. It is obvious that in the first year or so, the expenditure reductions and the removal of moneys from the economy will have an effect. In the longer term, it will be extremely important to get the balance right.

I was somewhat amused by some of the coverage I saw, as well as some of the statements I heard in the House earlier, to the effect that the Government has all the answers at this stage, having had just two meetings on this issue. The Government has been meeting twice a week for some weeks now to work through the plan and the budget. We intend to make the difficult choices with which we are faced. We will look at all aspects of the matter to try to ensure our decisions are fair to everybody. We have to meet our economic responsibilities. We have to protect the fabric of our society, which involves protecting the most vulnerable to the greatest extent possible.

It is important that we facilitate economic growth, which is the best guarantee for the future of this country and its people. We are focused on getting people back to work as quickly as possible, and economic growth is the optimum way of achieving this. That is why, when we hit the full force of the fiscal crisis in 2008, we set out a four-cornered plan which involved restoring the banking system, getting the public finances in order, protecting and creating jobs, and restoring competitiveness. Despite many distractions and difficulties since then, the Government has focused on each of the four objectives. Our approach has been consistent and methodical. We have been creating the conditions in which economic growth can drive employment and reduce the debt burden.

The various steps we have taken have been working. The circumstances are changing. It is important that our four-year plan continues to deal with the four issues I have mentioned. We hope the banking issue is largely settled at this point. We have to give our constant attention to the other three issues. It is important to try to reach as much consensus as possible in this House. I do not expect the Opposition to decide to take the odium for the decisions we will take. I accept that the first step it has taken in accepting the 3% deficit is an important one. There could be a great deal more consensus in this House. The Government will take the decisions that are needed. The Irish people, and those further afield who are watching this country, should be certain that the four-year plan that is to be put in place will send the right messages to the markets, nationally and internationally. I believe it should receive the support of this House.

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