Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

Consensus politics worked for our country in the late 1980s but I do not believe it will work now. It will not work now because things are so much more serious for our country than in the 1980s. We have a banking system that is under catastrophic pressure, a higher rate of unemployment and our main export markets, on which we are so dependent, are not showing the flickers of life we need. The politics that got our country through the 1980s and 1990s and into this century will not work now, and we need to change it. We have to set aside the tribes of which we are all members. While I am very proud to be a member of my particular tribe, we have to look above that and reflect the massive difficulty our country is in. I do not believe a consensus will work because it is not strong enough; we need agreement.

We need agreement on two issues, first, that our sovereignty is under threat if we cannot deal with this issue ourselves and, second, that we cannot afford to borrow on the financial markets at present. We will go back in the new year to look for money, having eaten into our reserves for three months in the hope the interest rates will come down. I do not believe the consensus form of agreement that may have worked in the past will be strong enough for our country to be secure in the future.

At this stage, I ask all parties to do three things. First, we must acknowledge the progress that has been made, given the two main Opposition parties stated they want to deliver a 3% rate of borrowing by 2014. That is some place to start, so let us try to work backwards from that. Second, I suggest all parties in Opposition have a responsibility to publish detailed plans about how we would handle this situation. That is our responsibility, and I hope and believe my party will rise to that challenge. Third, I ask the Government to acknowledge what has been done. If an Opposition party spells out what it would do differently, that should be acknowledged. If there is a good idea, for the sake of our country the Government should take it, and for the sake of our political system, it should acknowledge it. If that happens, in the interests of all of us, it will create the new environment which is vital for our country to be secure.