Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a ghábháil don Aire Stáit. I thank him for his attendance here and at General Affairs and External Relations Council, GAERC, meetings for quite some time.

We are where we are is a cliché used quite often concerning the current state of the economy. It is used by Government to try and absolve itself from the reckless and cavalier policies it adopted and which have brought us to where we are. I have heard Government spokespersons and some commentators say no party had warned about the pitfalls that lay ahead and that generally we went along with Government economic policy, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In 2007, Deputy Richard Bruton, then Fine Gael spokesman on finance, when replying to the budget, stated:

This is the latest in a series of budgets whose pattern is set by the huge spending spree. Government spending has grown 50% faster than the rate of growth in the national income. Government has doubled its dependence on a construction boom which now contributes 25% of its revenue. You cannot possibly build indefinite spending growth on the back of a building boom, no more than you can build long-term economic prosperity on the back of a building boom.

What a pity Deputy Bruton's words were not listened to or reported sufficiently to jolt people back to reality at the time, but the powers that be, Government, bankers, property developers and the newspapers that raked in the money from property advertisements, all, with few exceptions, would hear of no critical comment. They thought the partywould go on forever.

The European Council's task force of member states was set up to address the mismanagement of public finances in Ireland and other member states. It examined options to strengthen the framework of the Union for economic governance and to bring forward formal recommendations before the end of this year. The task force produced its final report in October and made several recommendations aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline in the Union, introducing new macroeconomic surveillance arrangements and setting in place the principles for an active crisis management framework.

The European Council, through President Van Rompuy, endorsed the recommendations of the high level task force on economic governance, which introduce greater financial discipline with an enhanced focus on public debt as well as deficits and fiscal sustainability. The question as to whether we will need a referendum has been addressed by quite a number of speakers this afternoon. I wonder whether the use of the simple revision procedure, in view of the limited nature of what is required, may be sufficient. This is obviously a matter for greater scrutiny and I believe President Von Rompuy will report on this further at the December meeting. There is certainly anxiety among several European member states about any change to the treaty so soon after its ratification last year.

The recommendations of the task force chart a course for greater financial stability in the eurozone. An item which has been mentioned in this House on many occasions, mainly by Senator Norris, is the whole question of rating agencies. I hope, like my colleague in the other House, Deputy Seán Barrett, that the EU can establish its own independent credit rating agency. It is ludicrous that agencies that were giving junk bonds a AAA rating are still allowed to make judgments on sovereign states. Surely the EU should have some opinion on those rating agencies which seem to be a law unto themselves.

The Minister of State mentioned the Doha development round and the greater liberalisation of world trade. The cornerstone of this must be fair trade, in agriculture in particular, where Irish beef producers must be allowed compete on a level playing pitch. If a level playing pitch is available to Irish beef producers then I am confident the quality of the product will hold its own against any other country.

In conclusion, the word "consensus" seems to have become the buzzword in recent weeks. The Minister of State can be assured that my party will not be found wanting when it comes to the national interest, but consensus is a two-way process, and we will not be lectured by some Government spokespersons on the issue. I am confident that, working with our EU partners, we can come out of our current difficulties. Without the solidarity of our EU colleagues and the implementation of the recommendations of the task force of the European Council, our prospects will diminish, in my opinion.

I look forward to the Minister of State returning to this House at a later stage where we can have further deliberations on the European Council's meeting in December.