Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a great day for the country, our first day of economic freedom in a long time as we leave the EU-IMF programme. The people of this country have worked hard to reach this point. It has not been easy for them. It is notable that the country has not seen the social upheaval witnessed in other countries experiencing similar situations. In many ways, this is due to the responsible attitude adopted by all political parties, allowing for a certain amount of justifiable rhetoric. A special word must be said for the Taoiseach.

A few years ago many were saying that the Taoiseach was not up to the job.