Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Is it not the case that the IMF has now officially acknowledged that its forecasts were the fantasies? These were the forecasts on which the Government based its policies because the troika demanded it.

The growth which the troika predicted has not materialised because of the crucifying level of austerity imposed on our people and economy. Not only has it not materialised in Ireland, the crippling effect of austerity is now spreading from the core into the centre of Europe, including in the United Kingdom, our biggest trading partner. Regardless of how competitive our export industry is, if people in Europe have less money in their pockets because of the austerity being imposed on them, our ability to export our way out of this crisis will be choked off. This is precisely the reason the forecasts are being downgraded, which throws everything off. That is a fact. I am not the only person saying this, as the Taoiseach knows.

See this speech in context