Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

The Government has been here before. Were we to believe the Opposition, there was to have been no reduction in interest rates. A significant reduction followed, but the negotiations undertaken by the Government were deemed unworthy of credit. Our success will secure €10 billion in savings for the Exchequer. No matter where one wishes to lay the credit for this reduction, one fact is irrefutable - the interest rate is lower because Ireland is at a significantly lesser risk of default.

We were also told by many that our economy was incapable of growth. Wrong again. Modest growth was achieved in year one of the Government's term for the first time in five years. Ireland will achieve growth again in 2012 and beyond.

Recovery will only be delivered by stability, which can only come from agreement, not from unilateral acts that undermine every economy in the world in these fragile times. It is vital to remember that Ireland is one of the most open economies in the world and has a significant trade surplus. It will benefit far more than most from a global economic recovery. We are a nation with integrity. Until the last Fianna Fáil-led Government damaged our international reputation, our nation had always proven its ability to negotiate the best for its people.

The greatest emphasis must be put on the acceptance by everyone that the Government has not completed its negotiations. The debt burden we face is too high. The issue of the promissory notes is unquestionably at the forefront of the minds of the Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach and every other Government member. The prize for the Irish people is not to win a battle and lose a war or to be regarded as the good boys of Europe. Selfishly, it is to guarantee for our farmers, food producers, business people and workforce that we stand ready to benefit from a global economic recovery, that we pay our creditors, that we be a good country to do business with and that we be willing and able to retake our place as one of the finest small economies in the world. This is the Government's ambition.

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