Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The reality is we are faced with reducing the total volume of money we can borrow. The only people who will lend us money have attached conditions to it. We can stick our heads in the ground and pretend that is not a reality. We need to reduce the quantum of money we are borrowing. There are a variety of ways of doing so, including cutting services, making them more efficient and reducing the numbers involved in service delivery. These are hard decisions. I know the Deputy is not interested in engaging with them and prefers the soft option that there is no need for retrenchment or taxation of any kind.

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