Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I remind the Leader of what happened in Easter Island. It is an island in the Pacific that had a thriving civilisation but the people there did not realise what was happening and as they continued to behave in the way they had done for many years their civilisation ended because there was nothing to eat. There was no food and the island became deserted. All that remains there are the monuments, the statues that were left from those previous days. We are in danger of acting in that way in this country at present.

I was impressed by the words President Obama used last night and the sympathy he showed for those who are having a tough time. For example, when he talked about the student who is no longer able to go to college because his father is losing his job, he showed sympathy but he also showed courage and said we can get out of this. The Government's job is to remind us of the tough decisions we will have to take.

I am complying with the requirement not to refer to names, but in the article yesterday by the former Attorney General who is an active member of Fine Gael he indicated that because of the deterioration in the financial situation, what may have been the right thing to do only a month ago is no longer the right thing now. He focused in particular on the front-loading of the difficult decisions we have to make. We were planning to take tough decisions this year, tougher ones next year and even tougher decisions the following year. He believes that what we should have done was taken the heavy hit now. We were willing to take it and I think the country is willing to take it if we show the leadership, determination and the confidence in the future that we can get out of this.