Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows, that is not a question. The Deputy made a series of false charges which were argumentative and which are not normally allowed at Question Time. When the Government took office, the deficit in 2010 left by the shambles of the previous Administration, of which the Deputy was a prominent member, was a Zimbabwe-like 30% of GDP, whcih was unprecedented in our entire economic history. The deficit after four years of the Government and prudent management of expenditure by my Department will be 2.7% next year. We have already exited the EU support base that we required during those difficult years. The simple yardstick is whether we have achieved the 4.8% deficit target set for this year through the expenditure ceilings and controls that I implemented. The answer is that not only have we achieved the 4.8% target, but we have greatly exceeded it, to such an extent that I was in a position to give additional support in areas that the Deputy's party every Wednesday demand be given extra funding. There is, of course, a disconnect between Fianna Fáil during Private Members' time and the new Fianna Fáil presented by the Deputy.

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