Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Lisbon treaty set out its conditions clearly and they have been adopted by all the countries. The europack-plus and the six-pack are voluntary commitments involving voluntary co-operation. Participation is a matter for each individual country. Of course, everybody agrees that the indigenous economy here has been very flat for a long time, but it is important to note that the projections for next year are that we will see for the first time an increase in employment and growth. In so far as the preparation of budget 2012 is concerned, we are taking almost €5 billion out of the economy in what is a very difficult situation. Despite the fact that the interest rate reductions will provide almost €1 billion in savings to the Irish taxpayer annually, that does not mean we can turn our backs on sorting out the problem with our public finances. As has been pointed out on many occasions, we are going to do that in respect of getting the debt level down to 8.6%. We are not able to put a figure on what that actually means until all the Revenue and tax information comes to hand.

I agree, however, that it is necessary to stimulate the indigenous economy, which is why the Government made its decision in respect of PRSI, VAT reductions, the minimum wage and a range of other issues.

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