John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

Last year, there was a 7% decrease in the cost of doing business in Ireland. That reflected the international situation. Notwithstanding all of that, having nearly seen a collapse in the world economies in April 2008, as I mentioned, we have reached a point at which people can say they have seen the bottom. We know where we are going. We feel the Government is doing what is necessary, even if it is tough, to ensure this economy will continue and will be in a good position when the world economies start to pick up. We have invested substantially in capital projects in areas like transport. We are ensuring that those who are most vulnerable are well catered for.