Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. It is important that our EU partners recognise that the Irish Parliament is endorsing the IMF deal signed by the Government on behalf of the Irish people and, in the national interest.

I have listened to several contributions from the Opposition side. I deplore the attitude that there is a simple solution or different option open to us. It is ridiculous for any of the Opposition to suggest that they can come up with a simple solution. The reality is that we are spending €20 billion more than we take in tax. Sinn Féin has told us how it would solve the problem. Anyone with a grasp of simple mathematics knows that one cannot spend €50 billion if only taking in €30 billion. Perhaps Sinn Féin propose to rob the banks, as it did in the old days. Clearly robbing Irish banks is not currently a good proposition. Perhaps it proposes to tax people out of existence.

The Labour Party has provided us with a plan for only one year. It acknowledges the need to get to 3% of GDP by 2014 and has set out figures for 2011 only, ignoring the other three years. It has also set out proposals for savings of €4.5 billion, €2.25 billion of which will be raised by way of taxes. Perhaps the Labour Party can explain to the Irish people on whom they will impose this tax and where they propose to find the millionaires. While there were millionaires around in the Celtic tiger days there are not too many of them around now whom the Labour Party could tax significantly.

Perhaps Fine Gael will explain how it proposes to raise its €6 billion. It plans is to sell off State assets next year. In this regard, how could one achieve the best price in the short space of time about which we are speaking? Fine Gael has stated it proposes to bridge the gap on the €6 billion with savings on welfare fraud, which is fantasy economics. It is time the Irish people realised they are being conned by the Opposition.

It has been suggested that this deal could be renegotiated. All informed economists and people involved in high finance, including Mr. Sutherland and previous Members of the Fine Gael Party such as Mr. Alan Dukes and Dr. Garret FitzGerald, have stated that renegotiation is not possible. It is downright insulting to the people for Fine Gael to suggest that if it is in office next year, it could ring up Angela Merkel and have the deal renegotiated. Fine Gael are living in fantasy land.

Any plc can negotiate an overdraft with its bank but to suggest the any new chief executive officer of that plc would get a better deal on the basis of the same balance sheet, assets and liability-----

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