Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I heard the Peter Sutherland interview this morning and it was extremely good. He stated that despite all the difficulties we have, the downgrading of the Irish economy by the international rating agencies and the negative views taken in the international press such as the Financial Times and others is overdone. He listed our national income compared to other European countries, even if we take account of the expected decline in incomes this year, our export performance and the ability of this country to deal with the economic crisis we are in. It is good to have somebody of his stature speaking internationally where he has a ready audience to speak up for the country because the Government has failed to sell the message and get across any conviction that it is in control of the situation and that it can resolve the issues we face.

I know the Leader was confused by my statement yesterday and I wish to clarify it. I indicated that when the last Fine Gael Government left office in 1997 it had presided over a three year period of Government where the average growth rate was 8%. This has not been exceeded since then. The performance of the previous Government saw average growth rates of 2%. Under the present Government we are down by 10%. When it comes to the economic management of this country it is important to realise that when Fine Gael has been in Government it has managed the public finances and the economy——