In tonight's address to the nation, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that the economy remains fragile and it will take several years to rebuild.
However, he said he believed "with all (his) heart that we the Irish people can now make our way to recovery, to prosperity and to the fulfilment of the dreams of our children and the founding fathers of our nation".
He said he wanted to be the Taoiseach who retrieved our economic sovereignty.
The Taoiseach was delivering the State's sixth ever such address, in advance of the delivery of Budget 2012 over the next two days.