Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the capital review, it is clear that we have very significant built-up infrastructural demand. There has been a significant change in ECB monetary policy from the period of Mr. Trichet to that of Mr. Draghi. Money is now available virtually at zero interest to states, which is all well and good if states could spend it.

On the fiscal side the structural rules are still very rigid. For example, the €400 million raised from the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, BGE, assets that was and still is available to the State to invest immediately in social housing cannot be deployed because it would break the fiscal rules on expenditure. Last week I talked to a number of colleagues across Europe and there was a great deal of support for considering amending the fiscal rules. The European Union needs to show that it is capable of dealing with crises. We cannot always learn in looking backwards. We must also learn in looking forwards at people's needs. We must show, in a prudent manner - God knows, I would not be arguing for profligacy - that we can use resources and the cheap money being made available by the European Central Bank to address real infrastructural deficiencies, including broadband provision, completion of the road network, schools, hospitals and health care systems. Will the Taoiseach take up the issue with colleagues to see if he can build, as we tried to do in the past, a consensus among member states to exempt infrastructural investment, to some degree, from the fiscal rules?

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