We listened carefully yesterday to the Tánaiste's comments on the economy. He said that a new perspective and a lot of honesty were required and that we should rid ourselves of the politics of denial and anger - things the Tánaiste championed on this side of the House, no doubt. Anyway, he continued to outline to the Dáil and to the people that the issues of mortgages and unemployment are being tackled through actions the Government is taking. Despite these actions, unemployment is rising and we heard from the Central Bank last week that the mortgage issue is not being dealt with. If the Tánaiste truly believes these things are being tackled, his speech allowed some major inferences about the politics of denial, and he is far more out of touch than we give him credit for.

We all welcome the fact that the Tánaiste seems to have converted to the politics of honesty rather than the politics of denial and anger. I imagine many of the Tánaiste's colleagues, including Deputies Shortall, Penrose, Broughan and Nulty and even Deputy Naughten, welcome it too. The Tánaiste should know - although he does not give that impression - that people are under ferocious pressure. ESB prices are up, petrol prices are up, gas prices are up and health insurance costs are up. Even those who have jobs are finding it remarkably difficult to make ends meet.

Brass neck is up too.

Businesses do not have access to finance, whether the Tánaiste believes it or not. Despite all the facts about medical cards and carer's allowance and people waiting so long for results, are the European Union and the Tánaiste's counterparts fully aware of what the people are going through? Some Ministers say that Ireland's debt is unsustainable.

We are over time. Thank you.

Does the Tánaiste believe this to be the case or does he believe that being on the cover of Time magazine and accepting awards is more important than telling his counterparts and the EU the real truth about what is happening in the Irish economy?

The real truth is that the people are suffering very badly from the consequences of what Deputy Cowen's party did in government prior to being booted out of office at the beginning of 2011.

That is history.

Deputy Cowen has some neck to come to the House and ask about what the EU thinks or what it is doing. Deputy Cowen's Government tied us hand and foot to an agreement with the EU and the IMF at the end of 2010.

The Tánaiste is in government now. This is not a commentary.

The Government was left with the task of having to unravel that and renegotiate it to get a better deal for the Irish taxpayer and the people, and we are proceeding to do that.

He is Mr. Anger.

We are proceeding at several levels.

This is spin city.

What is the Tánaiste going to do?

First, the terms of the agreement have been the subject of renegotiation by the Government and that process is continuing to get a deal for the Irish taxpayer to lift the burden of bank debt to which Deputy Cowen's Government tied us hand and foot. It tied the State and the Irish taxpayer to the fortunes of the banks in 2008 and repeated and consolidated that in 2010. We must unwind that now and we will do so.

Second, the country must proceed to create jobs and attract investment, which is what we have been doing.

This is a Second Stage speech.

Since the Government was formed we have seen 17,000 additional jobs in the private sector, as against the huge job losses we saw during the previous period.

There are 30,000 fewer at work now.

People are suffering as a consequence of mortgages, negative equity and everything that goes with that. This is the first Government to decide to tackle the issue of mortgages and introduce new legislation on personal insolvency, which is now almost at completion. This will provide the person who has a loan or mortgage with a greater degree of strength when negotiating with the bank.

Deputy Cowen has one minute.

Give him as much time as he likes.

I thank the Tánaiste. Let us be honest about this.

Do not start.

Sorry; the Deputy has only one minute and he is entitled to it.

The reality is that the economy is flat. Even the Irish chief executives announced this morning that they cannot predict growth until late 2014. Naturally, we welcome any job announcements, especially the announcement this morning in County Louth, but overall, were those in government to look at the unemployment figures, they would see that they are rising despite the severely high level of emigration. I return to the nub of the question: can the Tánaiste - with a degree of perspective and honesty, as he put it, and in the absence of denial or anger - tell us when, not how, the moral and economic benefit of retrospective capitalisation will accrue to us, the people? As the Taoiseach eventually agreed on Monday, the people effectively saved the euro by virtue of recapitalisation at their expense.

He never said that.

In saying that, the Taoiseach rubbished the commitment the Tánaiste had given to the people, for which he subsequently got a mandate, to the effect that he would burn bondholders. I would say it was almost treasonous to give the people that impression, but I will let the Tánaiste live by that commitment.

The Deputy is over time.

Let the Tánaiste answer the question on when, not how, the people will get what is due to them.

On the back of a lorry in Clara again.

The people will get a deal when we are satisfied we have got the best deal available for the taxpayer. Let me assure the Deputy that we will get the best deal for the taxpayer.

The Tánaiste is obliged to get it.

We are so obliged, financially and politically.

The Tánaiste would not burn a sod of turf.

We are obliged to get it because of the incredible mess and hames the previous Government made of this. It tied the fortunes of the taxpayer to the banks. It gave them a blanket guarantee.

The Tánaiste promised them an open door which he then locked.

It then tied the taxpayer hand and foot to an EU-IMF deal which we have to unwind. We will deal with the mess Fianna Fáil in government created and we will get the best possible deal for the taxpayer.

Deputy Barry Cowen should put that in his pipe and smoke it.