Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If we are to develop policy according to an evidence base, then all evidence is relevant, and what the Deputy cites needs to be taken into account by people forming policies. However, the point I am making is that the worst-off people did not bear the sole burden. Everybody suffered because the level of adjustment necessary was enormous. It was unprecedented historically.

I have said previously that the people who suffered the most were those who had lost their jobs. Regardless of whether their previous incomes were high or low, those who were out of work were most hit by the recession and most at risk of moving into poverty. The second group that suffered comprised those who were forced to emigrate. I do not refer to people who had jobs here who emigrated voluntarily but to individuals who, owing to economic circumstances, decided they had no choice other than to seek employment elsewhere. That is what we are trying to repair. The repair job is going very well, thank God. We have the highest growth rates in Europe. We also have the highest level of job creation in Europe and are eliminating our deficit. We will have a balanced budget in a year or two. Things are going well, but the repair job will continue. I am not claiming we have the finished article; rather, I am saying we are well on the way to recovery. We have to start looking again at societal issues, rather than just at the economy. We need to ask ourselves questions about the kind of country in which we want to live, the values the country should have and the manner in which we should look after the vulnerable. All of these are valid policy issues as the economy grows.

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