Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

As Deputy Mac Lochlainn stated, there are three elements to the economic crisis that we are facing, and all three of those elements are being addressed. On the banking dimension, as the Deputy will be aware, the ECB agreed prior to Christmas to make a very substantial amount of money available over a three-year period to the banking system throughout Europe.

On the dimension of jobs and growth, the Council meeting, which has been convened for 30 January, will be directly addressing the issues of jobs and growth in the euro area. It is not confined to issues relating to cuts.

On sovereign debt, the situation, as the Deputy will be aware, varies from one country to another. In the case of this country, we are already part of a programme. We must meet the terms of that programme. The terms, which are being discussed at present, are not any more onerous than the terms of the programme we are already in. Some the conditions to which the Deputy referred, for example, the 60% debt to GDP ratio, were already part of the Stability and Growth Pact, which was a condition of our membership of the euro.

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