Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

The policies of this side of the House have boosted international confidence in our ability to recover. Jean-Claude Trichet stated: "In the case of Ireland very, very tough decisions have been taken by the Government and rightly so". José Manuel González-Páramo of the ECB stated: "The Irish measures are very courageous. They are going in the right direction." The French finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, widely acknowledged as one of the finest finance ministers in the EU, stated: "Ireland has set the high standard the rest of us must follow". The German Minister for European affairs, Dr. Werner Hoyer, stated: "I think there is a deeply rooted trust and confidence in this country's ability to sort out its problems ... There is a fundamental belief that the Irish are going to solve it." This is what we should be discussing in these Houses. We need to give the people confidence, not death cries to the effect that we are so badly off that the country has been ruined. Give the people confidence and we will get ourselves out of this.