Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion. The second paragraph lays an implicit charge of dishonesty at the Government's door. Even on a cursory analysis, this charge does not amount to much. It is more of the unfortunate, empty rhetoric and bogus claims we have come to expect from Members on the benches opposite, albeit with some notable exceptions.

From day one of this national Government, we have all set about the task of dragging the country out of the mire, as the Minister correctly stated. We have been up front and honest with the people about the scale of the challenge ahead. We have rolled up our sleeves and got stuck into the business of getting Ireland back to work. As we all know only too well, people have suffered from the recklessness of the banks egged on by successive Fianna Fáil Administrations. It is every Member's job to get the country back on its feet.

As Deputy Mitchell stated, the jobs initiative, the targeted cut in VAT rates and the decrease in PRSI charged on employers have led to shoots of recovery in, for example, the tourism market. Lest we forget, the number of visits jumped by more than 9% between May and July. GDP expanded by 1.6% in the second quarter of the year. An even stronger increase has been recorded on an annual basis. Taken with the first quarter's figures, last week's data show that a recovery is under way.

We extracted over the course of several weeks a significant saving on the bad bailout deal surrendered by the former Government last year, yet this annual saving of several hundred million euro to the people we all represent does not attract a mere mention from the Opposition. Everyday we battle to restore Ireland's reputation internationally. Arguably, this is working well. For example, last week Reuters stated: "Irish GDP jump offers rare euro zone bright spot". Last Friday, David Cottle of The Wallstreet Journal wrote: "Ireland achieving quiet success". The day before in the same newspaper, Eamon Quinn wrote: "Celtic Tiger purrs". These headlines were unimaginable a short six months ago.

Lest we need to be reminded, our sovereignty was pawned off less than a year ago. We are in what amounts to a wartime situation. We need more of the Churchillian spirit.

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