John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

We have no source of funding other than the IMF and the ECB. They are protecting our public sector and our economy. We have to ensure they are out of here as soon as possible. Deputy Boyd Barrett gave examples of countries where, according to him, the IMF has played a less than positive role. For this country, the most immediate example of a country that received IMF assistance is Britain. The IMF spent two years in Britain in the early 1970s. The British economy grew and went from strength to strength after the IMF left. I accept that Deputy Boyd Barrett might have understandable misgivings about later decisions that were made, in the 1980s. The early 1970s was a desperate time in Britain, which is our closest neighbour. The experience in Britain is the best example to use when we speak about the removal of the IMF from our economy, which we hope will happen over the next few years. The intervention of the IMF worked successfully there. I hope it will work successfully here too.

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