Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That in turn has been a strong selling point for the country in terms of attracting investment and to facilitate entrepreneurs at home in finding people with the requisite skills to generate jobs in the future. All those issues must be examined. Deputy Gilmore is aware of the scale of the adjustment that must be provided so that we can continue to not alone reduce deficits but to fund them on an ongoing basis so that we can get back to a public finance balance. Where health, education and social welfare constitute more than 75% of the day-to-day spend of Government, as Deputy Gilmore is aware, those issues cannot be ring-fenced and allow one to come up with a credible policy that will get one to the point where one can go back to the markets and obtain funds at reasonable rates. Deputy Gilmore knows that.

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