Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Corporation tax is well up on profile. It is also important to point out that our fiscal adjustment and public finances remain on track in terms of our budgets for this year. Yesterday's Exchequer figures illustrate that tax revenues are slightly ahead of profile and public expenditure is below profile.

I point out to the Deputy that with regard to initiatives being prepared, what the Government has done, to find time and space to bolster domestic and international confidence, is to step out of the markets; to use the two months for the preparation of a four-year national plan; to provide a credible path to show people how we can manage our public finances, which we are required to do as a member of the euro area; and to bring forward a budget which will be the first step on that credible path. This is the important national imperative for the country.

All the issues must be considered, including cutting spending; increasing taxation; generating growth while bringing about this correction; front-loading, to some extent, the correction which must be made, which began in 2008, which we are half-way through and which will not be finished until 2014; the issue of growth and bringing forward every possibility of exploiting the potential of the economy, having stabilised it through our budgetary policies thus far; and bringing growth in the future dependent on the external environment, but also based on how we can continue with policies here which generate net employment. All of these issues are being examined in detail, including labour market activation policies, assistance for small indigenous businesses and ensuring the foreign direct investment flow to Ireland continues. Last week, it was important to point this out because we need to consider the positive news about the country in the context of the difficult challenges we face. Ireland is seen as the best place to come and invest. This is as a result of improvement in competitiveness, the reduction in unit labour costs against our European competitors of 8% last year, an increase in merchandise exports in the last quarter by 12% and an overall improvement in exports on last year of 9%. These are important indications of recovery-----

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