Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The mutterings coming from Deputy Mattie McGrath and others on that side of the House sound shallow to those who ask what Deputy Mattie McGrath did while on this side of the House. He could only say, "Let there be more spending". That is what the critics on that side of the House are now saying. Does the House realise where this country would be if that were to happen and the budgetary situation were to worsen? It must be recognised that each Department needs to meet specific targets. If Departments fall short, the consequences will be dire.

People who are or were formerly in Fianna Fáil will complain about the hardships caused by budgetary cuts. Of course there are hardships. What other way could it be? A couple of years ago, we had a deficit of €37 billion. How could we reduce it while increasing public spending? It cannot be done. It has not been done anywhere in the world. Wherever it has been tried, it has failed. It failed in 1977. Deputy Mattie McGrath and others like him will remember that far back. Perhaps Deputy Keaveney might not, as he is too young. The situation was somewhat similar. The national debt was not as great as it is now. All of the pundits claimed that we needed to spend more money, to put more money in people's pockets, to generate consumer spending, to provide stimulus. Where have we heard that before?

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