Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

This is a very difficult time for this country on every level — political, fiscal and international. More than 6,000 articles, probably an under-estimate, have been written about the country and the situation we are in, and the relationship between what happens here and what will happen to the euro. This is an extraordinarily serious time. We finally heard the truth on Sunday, that the IMF, EU and ECB would provide the sort of funding the country unfortunately needs as a result of extraordinarily reckless decision making in Government in recent years.

This has been a very traumatic week for the Irish electorate and people are very concerned about the safety of the currency, about their savings and deposits and about where we are going. That is understandable. People are asking many questions and there is a responsibility on the political establishment to provide the best leadership we can at this point. We must answer the question of what is in the country's best interests, what it is to stand by the republic now. What do we do? What is in the best interest of the country?

The Green Party said that people felt misled and betrayed by the Government. It is unprecedented for a Minister to say that and not to resign. The Green Party is to continue, claiming that it creates certainty, but it created the most extraordinary political uncertainty we have seen in many months. There is extraordinary political uncertainty and instability as a result of the Green Party's actions, quite the opposite of what Green Party Members said they intended. We can see that in the markets, across the eurozone, the articles being written and all the responses.

We are in a most difficult position. Fine Gael would like to see a general election. To ask the new Government to implement a budget and a four-year strategy brought in by this discredited Government is a big ask. The budget should be introduced early and we should change the way we do business here. We should implement the recommendations on reform of the budgetary process about which Fine Gael has spoken and we should be given much more detail about the memorandum of understanding that will be agreed between the IMF and the Government. It cannot just be talk; we need information which must be available to everyone. We need to change the way we do business when it comes to the budget. We cannot just do what we have always done. Fine Gael will stand by the Republic and do the right thing, but what the public want is a change of Government.