Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McHugh for his compliments to my staff and to those of the Department of Finance for the detailed discussions in which they engaged not only over the past few hours but also last weekend. We sometimes take for granted the work of civil servants but they work incredible hours in the interest of the State. We are now focusing on the next phase. We will exit the programme by the end of this year and we have to structure our exit. That has been central to our most recent discussions and will be the key element of discussions with the next troika mission. We want to ensure an orderly and trouble free exit from the package while continuing to fund our public services.

I am gratified by the Deputy's enthusiasm for spending. I know he will trenchantly argue his position within his party confines. I am a big advocate of ensuring we have the maximum possible expenditure on all the projects he has instanced and the many more I could add to the list.

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