Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Does the Deputy want to hear an answer or does he want to keep talking? He does not want to hear the answer because he has made his mind up. Does he want to hear a different view?

We came into government and were faced with an economic meltdown. We could not pay beyond five months for services - that is how much money was in the kitty - unless we got an external funder to give us money. The only people who gave us money was the troika, and they gave it with conditions. The idea that one can stop austerity, as if one can walk away and money will flutter down from the sky, is not accurate. We need to work towards a balanced budget. Our income as a State fell by 30% because the previous Government built an artificial model where income was predicated on construction and outgoings were expanded exponentially for the years it was in office. That had to be brought into balance. Anybody who examines the fiscal situation understands that.

Of course there are implications for taking money out of the economy. That is why we have done things in such a measured way. We first extended the consolidation period to get to 3% by a year, from 2014 to 2015. We have hit the targets. The Deputy is quite wrong to say there are no obvious benefits. We have stabilised the economy and are one of the few economies in Europe to grow. The ESRI indicated that the economy will grow this year and next. We are the most attractive country in Europe for inward investment and are creating jobs. All of this is extremely difficult and I wish to God we were not forced to have to do it, but there is no simple alternative which allows us simply to continue paying because we will run out of money in very short order. Nobody will give us money at an affordable rate.

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