Government Budget documentation- 2010

The text of Government's Budget documentation is available below 

"When I presented the Supplementary Budget to this House last April, I said we could work 

our way through this period of severe economic distress. Today, I can report that 

notwithstanding the difficulties of the last eight months, we are now on the road to economic 

recovery. 

It is of enormous benefit that the main political parties in this House share a common 

understanding of the extent of our difficulties. And even if we disagree on how to solve our 

problems, our agreement on the amount of savings required sends a powerful signal to the rest 

of the world that we are able and willing to put our own house in order. 

Today, I want to tell the Irish people that even though our economy is still in a weakened 

condition, and our self confidence as a nation has been shaken, the Government’s strategy 

over the last eighteen months is working and we can now see the first signs of a recovery here 

at home and in our main international markets. 

We have taken bold, decisive and innovative steps to manage our way through this crisis. In 

all our actions, our concern has been to protect jobs, to provide a functioning banking system 

and to return this economy to the path of sustainable growth. We have sought to do all of this 

in a manner that is fair and that protects the most vulnerable. 

The measures we have taken have been commended by international bodies such as the 

European Central Bank, the European Commission, the IMF and the OECD. They have also 

won the approval of the international markets. Tangible evidence of this is the reduction in 

our premium on borrowing in recent months. 

But we now have the confidence of knowing that our plan to return this country to prosperity 

is working. Yes, we have had to make some very difficult choices in framing today’s Budget 

and in doing so, we have tried to be as fair as possible. But by taking the difficult but 

necessary measures now, we will rebuild our nation’s self confidence here at home and our 

reputation abroad. "