Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News, Brian Lenihan said he accepted that growth is slow and sluggish.
However, he said all objective commentators acknowledged that growth was present.
Mr Lenihan added that the Government's targets are being met, its forecasts have held up as do its budgetary figures.
That, Mr Lenihan claimed, was important in counteracting the commentary seen in recent weeks suggesting the country is in fiscal jeopardy.
It comes as figures from the Department of Finance show that the gap between Government spending and revenue was €12.1bn in the first eight months of this year.
Just over €18.9bn in tax was collected, just €141m or 0.7% short of targets set by the Department earlier this year.
The Department said the figures were generally in line with its expectations, adding that Budget day targets for the year 'remain valid'.
The Government is forecasting a total tax take of €31bn for this year, down 6% from 2009.
Three of the four main tax categories are performing ahead of expectations, but the income tax take of €6.6bn was €270m behind target.
VAT was marginally better than expected at €6.7bn, as were excise duties at €2.9bn, while corporation tax was more than 4% better than targeted at €1.8bn.
Mr Lenihan acknowledged that joblessness is a big problem that must be tackled, but he claimed that without financial stability we will not have economic growth.
He said there was a far greater increase in the numbers signing on the Live Register in August last year, than there were for the same period this year.
He claimed that the peak in unemployment has nearly been reached.
Addressing poor retail figures for July, he said too much could be read into them, as the VAT returns for August were very strong.
He acknowledged that it was hard to be patient when you had lost your job or could not pay your mortgage, but the Government is doing everything in its powers to address that, he added.
He said there had to be a limit on the amount of money being put into Anglo Irish Bank, adding that it was not a question of keeping the bank afloat, but rather keeping the reputation of the country afloat.
He said billions of euro will have to be poured into Anglo, but over a long number of years.
Mr Lenihan also confirmed that the Government still intends to cut €3bn from the national Budget in December.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has accused the Minister for Finance of being 'delusional' about the state of the economy.
Finance Spokesperson Joan Burton said the latest Exchequer figures showed no sign of recovery or stabilisation, and if Brian Lenihan believed they did, then it could only mean he was 'dangerously in denial' about the real situation in the economy.
