Fiona O'Malley (Independent)

Yesterday, I was in Intel as part of an Oireachtas committee examining energy uses. Intel is a major employer and a big user of energy. As our costs are going through the roof, we needed to talk to them about what they are doing and what we could be doing. The one message we got at Intel was that their competitors are other units within the Intel community internationally. They compete with them for investment. Intel's headquarters in America reads the press in Ireland where local politicians do down this country. People who are reputed to be future taoisigh do nothing but undermine investment here. It really struck me because last week all the Ministers were flying the flag abroad. We have an open door to the rest of the world to sell Ireland, yet there is so much bickering at home. There is an element of political point-scoring, but there is a point at which matters become far too serious for this. We must all rise above the issues and remember whom we serve, namely, as Senator Prendergast mentioned, the children not yet born. The best thing we can do for them is not to cry over spilled milk but to make sure the best and soundest investments are made and that we maintain a positive approach in resolving our issues, rather than do the country down.

It has been mentioned that the international press, including the foremost financial newspaper, the Financial Times, has given a good report on what the Government is doing. It was not easy for anyone who had to vote for these measures yesterday. Of course, they would rather be spending the money on schools and hospitals and delivering better public services generally, but we are where we are and now need to make sure we get the best deal. We would do well to try to keep this in our focus. The best result would be to make borrowing cheaper for Ireland, not just for the State, but also for the people who are investing in the country. We can do this by selling a good story about Ireland. I know it galls the Opposition to think the Government did the right thing in the last budget, but we are reaping the rewards because we can borrow more cheaply.