Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not know what it would have recommended that we would do for money.

We now have some breathing space because of the way the Government has managed the country's finances and the economy. We are making a recovery, which was very adequately demonstrated this week with the numbers of new job announcements. The creation of jobs is at the root of economic recovery. Another 100 jobs were announced in Waterford today and 100 announced yesterday in Dublin. Some 1,600 jobs were announced for the Glanbia development. There will be approximately 1,000 jobs on the development of the M7 and N11 which have also been announced. That is how we will get economic recovery.

There is a debate throughout Europe about the economic strategy to be pursued. Austerity, as the Deputy calls it, is not some kind of choice. The Government needs to ensure we have a solvent country that can pay its way. It is unfortunate that as a country we are still borrowing approximately €1 billion a month to pay our way. Nobody is in any doubt that we need to get the deficit down unless they live some kind of fairytale existence as Sinn Féin members seem to do. The recovery that needs to come about is not a recovery based solely on budget adjustment. That is obviously part of it because we need to get the deficit down. It is also based on creating the circumstances for investment in the country with jobs created and we grow our way out of it. That is the Government's strategy.

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