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

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this important subject. I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for bringing the matter before the House. She does so positively to focus attention on this important issue.

As previous speakers have said, we found ourselves in a very difficult position in this country over the past five or six years. There is not much sense in saying that we did not do it or who did it, or blaming somebody else. We were where we were at the particular time. The people of this country made massive sacrifices in order to claw their way back out of the depths of depression that they were in.

It is true that many suffered greatly. That was going to happen. When the finances are restricted, whatever was happening beforehand obviously gets worse in that situation. Commentators have been criticising what they call austerity over the past number of years. It is austerity when one has a choice. One introduces austerity or tax increases in order to slow down an economy. In this case, the Government had no option whatsoever. It was as simple as that or cut the quality of services right across the board. If we as a people did not do the right thing, we could have found ourselves losing everything. We could have lost 65% of all salaries, wages and social welfare payments. I refer to 65% of every payment, not only bits here and there, or only curtailment. To those who say we should look at Greece and other countries, I say we should have a look at them and ask ourselves what is the average industrial wage in some of those countries that went a different route, although I am not criticising them.

These kind of situations are not new. They have arisen here previously. Some of us have been around for more than one of them, but this was the worst one. Society has suffered greatly. It has found a resilience that previously it did not know it had. The danger now would be that society would say it all is over, everything is free from here on in and we should go for broke. It would be a sad and tragic mistake if that were to happen. Incidentally, that has happened down through history as well. If we were to do that, we would find ourselves back where we were five or six years ago. That is not a place we want the people of this country to be in.

Let us not forget that in times of fiscal difficulty, economic difficulty and general stress, if the wealthy suffer, the poor suffer more. It automatically follows, as night follows day. How else can it happen? When somebody comments that people are poorer than they were, of course they are. They have suffered an awful tragedy. They have knuckled down and they have worked hard at it, and I think they have done a great job.

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