Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is the situation we are facing. If we are not prepared to sit down and deal with those issues and work with them in analysing the structural issues arising and dealing with them we will not be in a position to solve the problem. The important point about moving on is building on the policy initiatives we have already taken. On banking, it relates to the guarantee, the capitalisation and the segregation of assets, all of which are supported by the euro area group. On our fiscal policy and how we can proceed in the context of our four-year plan and the budget, it is about sitting down with them in coming days and dealing with the issues as they arise.

See this speech in context