Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In light of last weekend's Red C poll, it is encouraging to see that 60% of the population now agrees the economic policies of the Government over the past three years were correct and the same percentage thinks the country is now moving in the right direction. Should that poll have been taken after the Government secured the refinancing of our IMF debt, I imagine the figure would have been higher. It is not a time for congratulations but for redoubling our efforts to put the economy on a sound footing. In this regard I call for a debate on the economy and more specifically on policies to ensure the old boom and bust cycle does not take hold again. Perhaps the Leader will invite either the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, or the new Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, to come to the Seanad to debate these issues.