The European Commission has said it is confident that Ireland will get over its current difficulties.
'I see light at the end of the tunnel,' Internal Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier told the Oireachtas European Affairs committee.
Mr Barnier said exports and access to larger markets would help our open economy to recover.
Europe needs a new and safer financial system for ordinary people, as well as companies big and small, he said.
All of Europe was in this crisis together, he said, adding that the Irish were suffering more than most.
He said his message to the Irish authorities was that Europe had to put its financial affairs in order and had to kick-start growth with a revitalised Internal Market.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said that the Government is trying to get its four-year austerity plan ready for mid-November.
Responding to reports that the Government is planning to delay publication of the plan until nearer the Budget, Mr Cowen said the Government is in the process of preparing its plan.
He added that the country is not returning to the bond markets until January and so it is not a question of there having to be a certain date for publication of the plan.
He said that the budgetary plan will provide a credible pathway back to the 3% of GDP budget deficit target by 2014.
Earlier, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith rejected claims that the Government is planning to postpone publication of its four-year budget plan until after the holding of the Donegal South West by-election, to limit its potential negative impact.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Minister Smith said the plan will be published once it is finalised.
Speaking on the same programme, Fine Gael Finance Spokesman Michael Noonan said that failing to give a publication date for the plan was sending the wrong signal to the markets.
Meanwhile, Ireland's cost of borrowing eased slightly this morning after the publication of the Government's update on its plans to cut the budget deficit.
The interest rate demanded by investors stood at 7.79%, down from levels of over 7.8% yesterday.
The Government does not plan to borrow on the bond markets until next year.
