John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps I should not be surprised that one of the Senators on the other side of the House has admitted that his party takes his economic policy direction from the front pages of the newspapers. I am speaking in the context of the publication this morning of the IMF report, Coping with High Debt and Sluggish Growth. I suggest it would perhaps be better for everybody in the House, before commenting on such matters, to acquaint themselves with the report. We agree that the effects of austerity are dreadful for an economy and its citizens but austerity is not the policy proposed by certain Members of this and the other House. Despite what commentators are saying, there is a still a ¤15 billion gap in the budget finances and even if there had been no banking, European or monetary crisis, our fiscal crisis would have remained.