Joe O'Toole (Independent)

To beat an old drum, I again make reference to the talks taking place in Government Buildings between the social partners, the Government and the various other groups involved. I made the point yesterday that, in terms of the way we were engaging with the matter, talk of strikes, actions, etc. was part of the essential choreography and stage direction of these events and that this was not the time to focus on such issues. We may need to examine them in a weeks' time. We should look to the future.

It is strange that today the newspapers are carrying pages and pages of articles on the OECD report. It is strange when one refers to the imbalance. The day before yesterday the European Union gave its prognosis for the European economy for 2010 and 2011. It stated the Irish economy would not grow next year, whereas the European economy would, and that the following year the Irish growth rate would be twice that of the European economy, at some 2% as against 1%. We need to examine such reports because we need to give hope to the people.