Dan Boyle (Green Party)

This House does not lack opportunities to discuss the economy. I accept what other Senators have said about the need to have regular and constant structured debate on the economy. I would be willing to debate recent reports and to put such debates in the necessary context. The global situation is obviously an overriding factor in the economic situation in which Ireland and other countries find themselves. The German economy, for example, has retracted by 6%, while unemployment in Spain reached 4 million in the past week. This is not something unique to Ireland. When we have such a debate there will be a responsibility on all Members of the House to have the proper context in mind and not to seize on every report that reflects their own prejudices or magnify every negative comment.

To get ourselves out of the current economic situation we must collectively find measures that will create a more sustainable economy. The danger in having debates is not about censorship but about having honest debates. When we acknowledge our current situation we must admit the internal factors that have brought us to this point but we must also accept that the way out of it ultimately depends on an international recovery and particularly on recovery in the countries that are our main trading partners. We can snipe as much as we wish but we must put in place the measures that will control public expenditure and build up the economy's capacity and capability. When we have debates of that nature, we will be more honest with the Irish people.