Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The quarterly figures speak for themselves. The IMF has been largely supportive of the efforts the Irish Government is making towards an improvement of our public finances and a general improvement in our economic circumstances. Nobody said it would be easy. I note the IMF comment in which it recommends no supplementary budget until 2015, if that is the case. The budget for 2013 has been put through the House. While it is challenging for many people, we would expect that the effort in it to focus on business, job opportunities and the creation of jobs through further investment will grow our economy for the third consecutive year. Consider our position just over 15 months ago. It was very serious. The country had no standing or reputation, was not in a position to raise money, was in a very poor state in terms of inward investment and had a domestic economy that was utterly depressed. The decisions made by the Government to change structures, recapitalise the banks and rebuild our reputation speak for themselves.

Nobody wishes to stand here and say we will have to make further adjustments which will mean cutbacks in services. One cannot cut services beyond a certain point. That is why the Croke Park agreement must be implemented in full and in an accelerated fashion. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is negotiating with the trade unions about extra savings to be achieved from that agreement. These are all in the interests of the economy. Ms Lagarde has been very favourable towards Ireland and I note the comments made by the IMF.

The IMF also made the point that a commitment given to this country by our European colleagues must be followed through. That is an important element of hope for our people. The patience they have shown, the challenges they are confronting and the difficulties they encounter must be tempered on the other side through the assistance that was committed to the country on 29 June, when the decision was made in respect of the break between sovereign and bank debt and, on the other hand, the negotiations that have been ongoing about the promissory notes at ECB level.

It is difficult to know what will happen to the global economy. American interests are making strident efforts to deal with the fiscal cliff the country faces before the end of the year. That could see an enormous improvement in the American economy, given its efforts in the energy field, which will speak for themselves, and the new regime in China on the other side of the world. From a European perspective, serious headway has been made in Ireland, a small country, and there are challenges ahead. We need extra support from our European colleagues. I can testify that the efforts made at the European Council meeting last week are focused on improving the situation in European economies, where leaders see that tough decisions must be made because we cannot do this on our own. If our partner colleagues are making headway, it is easier for Ireland as an exporting nation to grow its economy. I cannot provide details of the 2014 budget but we would like to see a situation where Members of the House have the opportunity to discuss the range and spectrum of what is involved at an earlier date.

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