Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

One of our national newspapers has a misleading headline this morning. It stated that the economy was going to shrink by 11% over the next 18 months, but that has no basis in fact. If one reads the article, it properly states that the governor of the Central Bank has stated that the economy will contract this year by about 8% and by perhaps 3% next year. In fact, it has already contracted by about 11% or 12%. Most economists consider that from the peak we will ultimately be down by about 16%. I wish to emphasise one matter raised by the governor of the Central Bank - that further fiscal corrections must be done by way of cutting expenditure. In my opinion and the opinion of many economists, the focus should be on payroll costs which must be brought back to €15 billion. In that regard, I wish to express my concern at the recent findings of the Labour Court which is awarding almost a 5% increase at a time when the economy is facing such challenges.