Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me be clear about a few things. The Commission on Taxation and Social Welfare produced a report on child benefit. I have not seen this report nor has it come to Government. Matters of a budgetary nature are a matter for consideration by the Cabinet collectively and that is what the Cabinet will do in regard to the very challenging preparation work the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, has to do for 2013. The Deputy seems to forget the country is in a bailout programme and we do not have money to throw around as happened in years gone by.

The Deputy's quotation from Professor Stiglitz is incorrect. He said that austerity rarely works. I happened to be there to welcome 5,500 members of the International Bar Association to our country. They will be here for a week or longer, which will have a dramatic impact on the economic spend locally and give people from throughout the world a flavour of the personality of Irish people.

As we prepare for the Presidency of the European Union on 1 January, our focus is on growth and jobs because that is where the future of the country, and countries of the eurozone and European Union, lies. We have already made it clear that in our preparations for this Presidency that is where the focus will be - on the development of the Single Market and the continual opening of opportunities for jobs and business. I invite the Deputy and others to come to the House the week after next in order to participate in the economic debate that has been requested a number of times, taking into account the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council report, the IMF report and others.

The Deputy can feel free to criticise Government, as I am sure he will, or to put forward constructive suggestions for consideration by the Minister for Finance as he prepares to bring his recommendations to Government. I invite him, rather than simply say we can achieve savings of €200 million here or there, to justify his proposals the next time. We have moved on from people assuming that we can transform our economy overnight. We are in a very challenging position, as the people know. I expect the Deputy to back up proposals put forward in his contributions.

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