merrion street

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore today marked the Government's second year in office with the launch of a report on progress made on the Agreed Programme for Government. The leaders also outlined the Government's priorites for the next 12 months.

The Taoiseach said:

I believe that Ireland is now heading in the right direction.

Our plan is working.

People’s hard work and sacrifices are beginning to pay dividends. Ireland is rebuilding its reputation, restoring its confidence, laying the foundation for a better, brighter, more prosperous future.

The second annual report published today sets out the progress the government has made in the past year. It shows that the government is working hard on its implementation. That it’s reforming, legislating, delivering on its commitments to the Irish people.

Just two years in, two-thirds of the commitments in the Programme for Government have been progressed satisfactorily. Because they have, stability is returning. We will continue to work with that hard-won stability to sustain our ambitious but realistic agenda.

The leaders highlighted the fact that the number of people in employment has risen for the first time since 2008. The Taoiseach said that Ireland's international reputation has been restored and spoke about the end of the Bank Guarantee:

Consolidating the successes of the first renegotiation of the bail-out agreement, liquidating Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, and abolishing the promissory notes, have further reduced our borrowing costs.

The bank-guarantee has ended. Further stakes in the banks have been sold.

The correction of the public finances is on track. Most of the fiscal consolidation is complete.

Borrowing is on-track to fall to below the 3% of GDP target by 2015.

This new stability and confidence has been hard-won. But it has paid off, with long-term Government-bond yields now at less than 4%, coming down from a high of 14% two years ago.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said:

No one is claiming that it has been easy. And no one is claiming victory. But we can be confident in what has been achieved so far. And, because of those achievements – because of the steadfast courage of the Irish people in the face of unprecedented adversity – we can also be confident about our future. The future of our country. The future of our children....

So let’s be clear-sighted about what has been done over the past two years; realistic about the challenges we still face;but confident, too, in our capacity to recover, to put this crisis behind us, and to face the future with hope.