Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Labour Party leader has made big play that he will renegotiate the document. The financial package that has been agreed with our EU partners and the IMF is a good deal for Ireland. It will ensure Ireland will have access to funds to maintain social welfare, the health service, the education system and other services. It will help to resolve the remaining issues in our banks. The package will provide funding for both actions at a lower cost than is available on the market and, accordingly, relieve the burden on Irish taxpayers.

The Opposition parties have sought to propagate the idea that they could have done a better deal for Ireland. To do a better deal, they would first need to be in agreement. The Opposition parties have such fundamental disagreements that it would have been impossible for them come to any agreement with international negotiators.

The facility that has been put in place accepts the basic strategies in the Government's national recovery document. That is why, as Deputy Rabbitte pointed out, that a great deal of the detail in the national recovery document is contained in this document. The Opposition disagrees, as it does from time to time with the Government, on some of the most fundamental aspects of the national recovery plan. What is remarkable is the level of disagreement that exists between the Opposition parties.

See this speech in context