Ireland should be to the fore in welcoming Commissioner Solbes's comments of recent weeks. He has in mind a refinement of the pact rather than an abandonment of it, and that would not lead to any loss of confidence such as Senator Mansergh describes. Relatively few countries will be able to benefit – if that is the right word – from a refinement of the rules governing the currency, on the lines suggested by the Commissioner. Ireland is clearly one of those countries and it is common sense that we be allowed to borrow for capital purposes and not be required to fund a national development plan or major investments in infrastructure out of current revenues. We should have been saying this for several years past, when we did not need to borrow, but to say it now is to simply state the obvious. To state it in simple terms as President Prodi did, the Stability and Growth Pact is stupid and needs to be re-negotiated. It is just a political agreement, not a matter of sovereign commitment as the Minister has described it on occasion. It can and should be changed when it does not make sense.