Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, on the great progress he has made since taking office three years ago on 9 March 2011. This progress has been hard won by the Irish people and has put the State in a position to broaden our economic recovery. Debt sustainability has been vital to the restoration of our economy and will be important for future sustainable growth. Our public finances are finally under control with out deficit below 5% of GDP. The current cost of borrowing at just over 3% allows the State to spend less on servicing the national debt which, in turn, gives the Minister and the Government more flexibility to reduce taxes or increase spending on public services. I remind Senator Daly - as Senator Landy did - that when his party was last in government, over 250,000 jobs were lost in the final three years of that term. Ireland now outstrips all other EU nations with regard to job creation. Last week's figures show that a net total of 61,000 new jobs were created in 2013-----