Former tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has said it was worth him paying a political price for the State's economic improvement.

Mr Gilmore resigned as Labour leader after the party’s poor performance in last year’s European and local elections. In his first major Dáil speech since then, he said that Labour had paid a high price in those elections for pursuing the right economic policies.

“I too paid a political price but, speaking personally, I believe it was worth it to see now in the spring statement the great economic recovery that has been achieved and the foundation that has been set for the future of the country,” he added.

“It may have been difficult but we did the right thing.”

Mr Gilmore said: "Imagine where we would be if we had remained in bailout", adding that Ireland could only look to the situation in Greece in that regard.

“Imagine where the country would be if we had taken Sinn Féin’s advice and defaulted,” he said. “It would take another 20 years to recover.”

Dramatic turnaround

Speaking during the resumed debate on the spring statement, Mr Gilmore said Ireland’s reputation was in tatters four years ago. Since then, there had been a dramatic turnaround, he added.

“It is hard to think of any economy anywhere in the developed world which has made such an emphatic recovery in such a short period of time,” he added.

Mr Gilmore said the credit for the country’s recovery must go, above all, to the people. “Their sacrifice, hard work and co-operation made the recovery possible,” he added. “Among them were the trade unions who worked the Croke Park agreement and agreed the Haddington Road replacement.”

Focus on jobs

He said the work was not completed because an economy existed only to serve society, and not the other way around. Unemployment was still about 10 per cent, which was far too high, and the focus had to remain on jobs.

Recovery was still at risk and must not be squandered, said Mr Gilmore.

“The greatest risks to recovery are political choices, that is, political choices which are made in these buildings and the choices we will make as citizens when we next go to our polling stations,” he added.

Sinn Féin TD Michael Colreavy said that while there might have been a marginal improvement in the economy, the Government had not got to grips with the endemic crisis of long-term unemployment.

He went on to raise the case of a terminally ill woman who had been overpaid in social welfare entitlements and now had €95 taken from her €103 weekly pension. “That is not an Ireland of which I am proud,” said Mr Colreavy.

Fine Gael TD Gabrielle McFadden said the Government had faced a catastrophic situation when it came to office.

She said many of the decisions taken were not popular, but they were taken for the right reasons by a responsible Government.