Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister well in the next week or ten days because we are being told completely different things by senior Members of the Government. The Tánaiste has been playing a very high-stakes game in recent months, saying there should not be a cent more than is required to get us to a deficit of 5.1%. The Minister has given a different opinion today. That is all in the nature of ongoing political negotiations but, clearly, there is a division within Government. I hope that issue can be resolved at the Economic Management Council, EMC, in the next few days. In principle it is sensible to have some level of a buffer but it depends on what the cash difference is and exactly the make up of those cuts and tax increases. That remains to be seen.

See this speech in context