John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

When the Opposition talks about 20,000 job cuts in the public service, I can guarantee that it will not specify where or what services will be cut. We are faced with a very difficult situation and are dealing with it strongly. We have recapitalised the banks and are looking to new areas of future growth. The very things that brought us prosperity are still in place for the future. The world economies will pick up before ours because we are in a more difficult economic situation than the others. Notwithstanding that, however, we are taking all the decisions now. We are not deferring them, but are making them now so that Ireland will recover and we will have a stronger country at the end of it. We must become more competitive, so our aim is to grow and have a better economy. When asked in future what we did in the recession, people will say that we did our best and got through it quickly.