Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have another opportunity to speak on this subject. Any person observing our position from abroad would come to the conclusion that somewhere along the line we have missed something and we do not seem to have recognised the awkward and difficult situation in which we find ourselves. I reiterate that this is a very difficult situation.

I have great respect for the previous speaker, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, who has been a Member of the House for some time. However, I am worried about his naivety as regards the situation. A famous man once wrote that no man is an island. Ireland is geographically an island but we have commitments elsewhere and we did not do the job we were supposed to do. I am not attempting to blame previous Administrations but it is a fact that we are in this situation as a result of a variety of reasons. Reference was made to the various information from the Department of Finance. I do not intend to be disrespectful to any Department or anyone who negotiated on behalf of the country over the past ten years but whatever information was given and whatever action was taken, they were insufficient and unsoundly based and they did not have any beneficial effect on the economy.

Benefits for the people and the workers of this country will come from a strong economy and from employment. This does not mean that those who were in a particular employment, whether in the public or private sector, should be rewarded. Sadly, we are not in a position to reward ourselves at this time. We all meet and know people who are really pushed to the wall. They did not contribute to the country's downfall. I agree they accepted whatever was going because everybody told them that we were the richest country in the world. Where did we get that information? Who told us? It was all a farce and we were codding and deluding ourselves.

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