Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When this Government came into office four years ago, it was faced with a catastrophic situation. There were fears that there would be no money to pay public servants, no money for social welfare and no money for pensions. Rumours suggested ATMs were drying up. Some 300,000 jobs were lost at the height of the recession. To add to the near Armageddon situation, there was also a real fear at the time that there would be a run on the banks. That is the nightmare that the people of this country were facing. Our dear country was inches away from being a complete economic basket case. There is much work still to be done, but this Government came into office in early 2011, rolled up its sleeves and got on with the business of facing the challenges head on. Many of the decisions taken were not popular, but were taken for the right reasons by a responsible Government. It has been far from easy, particularly for the people of this country who had no hand, act or part in the crash.

The economic evidence clearly indicates that the recovery is under way. Four years on, no one in this Chamber can dispute that we have come a long way since the darkest days we ever faced as a country. Some 90,000 jobs have been created by this Government since it launched its Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. Unemployment has dropped from a high of 15% and will fall below 10% in the coming months. The current aim is to add another 100,000 jobs to the economy and to have more than 2 million people at work by the end of 2018. This would be a full replacement of all the jobs lost during the crash.

It is uplifting, to say the least, that we can look forward to seeing those who emigrated during the crash returning. Families can look forward to seeing their sons and daughters returning home to live in Ireland. We have the fastest growing economy in Europe. However, this Government has made it clear that despite the fact that the economy is in recovery mode, there will be no return to the extravagant days of boom and bust policies promoted by the last Government, a Fianna Fáil led Government which cosied up to the property developers as the bubble continued to grow and finally burst with horrendous consequences for this country.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance made it very clear that, as a result of the positive impact of the prudent policies followed, there will be sensible tax cuts and spending increases to continue to improve people's living conditions and vital services. We must never forget that the turnaround which we are seeing in the economy is a direct consequence of the policies pursued by the Government and the sacrifices made by the Irish people. This Government is determined to recognise that contribution by giving people some breathing space.

At the start of this year, the Government put money back into people's pay packets for the first time in seven years. Our last budget reduced income tax and the universal social charge for the first time in six years. These were the first steps in making our tax system fairer and better for job creation. As the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance have outlined, the Government will continue to provide more breathing space for people.

Thankfully for families right across this country, we have moved away from an era of austerity to a new dawn full of hope and renewal for our great country. One of the key objectives is to ensure that all regions feel the benefit of economic recovery, including the midlands.

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