Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the arrangement that was reached on the promissory notes last week, albeit in the early hours of the morning. What needs to be said has not been said by the Opposition, which is no surprise because, as the Minister for Finance said, it was a bad day to be in the Opposition. However, let us be under no illusion. Last week was a good week for Ireland and its future. It gives us the breathing space and economic leverage we so badly need. It was the result of many hours of work by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and their staff. Credit should be given where it is due in this regard.

It is most unfortunate that an Economic Management Council had to be established to mop up what can only be described as the spectacular mess left by the previous Administration. Media and the Opposition say we overplay that, but I do not believe we can ever underestimate or underplay how the previous Administration treated this country in terms of its economic management and the disdain with which it treated the people. The dedication and commitment of this Government and its staff, including in embassies throughout Europe, have paid dividends in gradually restoring our economic sovereignty and, most importantly, our reputation.

Work has been under way since this Government came into office to undo the disastrous promissory notes deal which the Fianna Fáil-led Administration shackled to the State. We have delivered on our promise. The Fianna Fáil deal was a short-term overdraft with a huge interest rate. The new deal is spread over 40 years and means the Government's need to raise €20 billion over the next decade has ceased to exist.

While that will make it much easier for us to leave the troika deal at the end of the year, I am under no illusion at the difficult task that lays ahead. The deal also helps us to reduce our deficit by €1 billion per year from 2014, a prospect which was unfathomable to the Opposition for the last number of months as appears from commentary and debate on the issue. The new deal allows for a far more manageable payments schedule and level of inflation over the next 20 years.

Although "promnight" as it has been called in the media was sprung upon us at the last minute, it is plain to see that the move was the result of months of hard work. One has to question why there was a leak. Thanks to the leak, we had to conduct our business in an unfortunate way by suddenly pushing the legislation through. It has led to opportunism from the Opposition who have been taking cheap shots and turning this into a very bad news story. Comments from Deputy Gerry Adams about the Dáil bar were very unhelpful and did a great disservice to hard-working, well-meaning Deputies. No one party or Deputy is more hard-working or has greater authority on a particular issue. We are all here to represent the people of Ireland. I question where the leak came from in the first place, however. In other administrations, such a leak would be a prosecutable offence. One has to question the means and the motives that led us to the debate in the early hours of the morning.

I have been contacted by and spoken to many IBRC workers who live in my constituency. The staff have my sympathy and support. Many have written to me outlining their concerns about their redundancy. We must remember that not everyone who worked in the banking sector was a fat-cat. There were many good, decent and honest working people within the organisation who stayed and took the abuse at the front desk but did not receive the remuneration provided to those who hid in big offices making disastrous deals. We must remember that as a Government as we work to help secure a good deal for these workers.

Of course, there has been a great deal of work done in the last two years. Government Deputies are under no illusion that while this was a good deal for Ireland, the hard work must continue.

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