Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)

Is it not the case that if there were no promissory notes - no payments made last year and none to be made this year - the vast majority of cuts and tax increases that are required to be made would still be necessary because the gap between taxation revenue and public spending is still a multiple of what the State must pay out to meet the commitments made by the last Government? To follow up on what Deputy Broughan said, is it not the case that the price the Greek Government has paid for its strategy is an intensification of austerity in the short to medium run and a further loss of sovereignty? Greece is now in a situation where all of the power its finance department had has been conferred on a third party. That is not a course of action open to this State nor is it one the Irish people would accept.

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