Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

They do not just talk about jobs and growth. That is the Deputy's job. He talks about it, but they actually implement it. They put their money where their mouths are. We could do worse than listen to them.

The Deputy wants to know where the growth will emerge. Structural reforms are necessary. The European Union, as a hegemony, cannot afford to price itself out of the global market. We live in a globalised economy. We must trade and sell products and services all over the world and, in turn, we buy and consume them. That is the way the world works. If the Deputy wishes to turn off globalisation, he will have to travel back in time because it will not happen in 2012. Therefore, we need structural reforms.

To talk about a European Union that is obsessed with driving down living standards and the rights of members of society, workers and so forth is just farcical.

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