Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I very much welcome the positive comments of some of the Opposition Senators. What happened yesterday in terms of consensus was unprecedented and I would very much welcome further debates on the economy. We will be having them regardless.

During the boom period there was a danger of overemphasising the positive - perhaps in that sense we talked ourselves into a bit of a black hole - but there is a danger now of overstating the negative in the economy. I want to refer to some of the more positive statistics that are before us if we look at them. Any debate on the economy should give hope and should have a light at the end of the tunnel. According to current statistics, we live in a country where exports are up, imports are down, manufacturing and industrial production are increasing massively, agricultural output is increasing massively, houses are considerably more affordable, inflation is pretty much under control, interest rates are at historic lows, consumer sentiment is rising, road deaths are very much down and transport infrastructure has improved immeasurably. It is a country which is now ranked 13th in the world in terms of broadband infrastructure, up from 17th. That is very positive. It is a country which, by 2020, could be a net exporter of wind on some days of the year.