Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Without re-opening the debate, some of us on this side of the House agree with Senator Healy Eames's comments. Our query relates to how Senator Bacik seemed not to separate her role as a Senator from that of her role as Deputy Leader. No one on this side of the House had an opportunity to respond to her position.

When is it intended for the Minister for Finance or the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, to appear before the House? In the past week, there has been a flurry of activity primarily in the international media, to some extent reflected in the national media, arising from a paper published by two economists in America that is now seen to be flawed. Their premise was that high debt led to low growth, but this is being challenged. Commentary has culminated in reports in today's Irish Independent of remarks by European Commission President Barroso to the effect that austerity is not working.