Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

——at any of the commentary from the IMF, the OECD and the European Union, it can be seen that very few foresaw what would happen which culminated in financial meltdown across the world in 2008. It will have to be dealt with on a transnational basis. It would be very difficult for the Government on its own to deal with the fallout from an international credit crisis. It has to be dealt with at European level, at G20 level and probably at G8 level. The larger countries need to come together to try to find some mechanism to make sure there is enough liquidity going back into the global economy. More importantly, they need to ensure the measures that are put in place do not stifle or stymie globalisation, growth and trade. They need to make sure we do not have the type of activity we saw in the financial services sector. I refer, for example, to the unregulated movement of capital and the outflows that caused some of these difficulties, which are inherently international in nature.

I am just making the point that when we have debates of this nature, we should stick to the facts. We should point out where we are and acknowledge the difficulties we are in. It is equally important to acknowledge that opportunities are available to this country. It can position itself to become more competitive, for example by ensuring the workforce is ready. During a period of increasing unemployment, it is important to invest in skills and retraining in advance of the upturn. All the figures suggest that a global upturn is on the way. That has been suggested by international commentators. The IMF has upgraded its forecast to approximately 4%. We have to position ourselves to make sure we take advantage of that. At the same time, we have to promote Ireland as a place for inward investment continually.

Education is another key area in which I see substantial potential. People from other countries come to Ireland for educational purposes — to learn English and to obtain third and fourth level qualifications such as doctorates. There are significant opportunities for Ireland in this area. When students come to this country, they pay to do courses and to stay in digs. There is an immediate spin-off from that. It is also of longer-term strategic value to have students coming to this country to be educated. When they go back to their own countries, they retain the links they have forged with Ireland. If they get involved in business at a later stage in their lives, they may become key business influencers in their own countries. Their backgrounds may also lead them to become key academics, researchers or politicians.