Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I lived in Tanzania, a very poor east African country. Like many other countries in Africa in the 1980s, it had to accept the ministrations of the IMF and the position was no different then. If countries borrowed money from the IMF, they had to repay it.

We do not have an option other than getting the country back on its feet because that is the best way to protect social policies across a range of issues. In its most recent report the Commission examined downward adjustments in payment rates in recent years. Although there has been a downward adjustment in payment rates on schemes such as disability allowance, the Commission suggested better calibration of social supports towards those most in need might be required to meet the dual goals of protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring fiscal sustainability, given our demographic pressures. We are being asked to spend our money, such as it is, in the best way possible, but we are also under instruction to achieve financial sustainability. No social welfare change is easy, but the Government has reluctantly attempted to balance it with what was originally intended to be a reduction of ¤540 million. When Fianna Fáil left office, the Programme for National Recovery set out indicative reductions of more than ¤800 million this year.