Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

One proposal was referred back to the trade unions and then further discussions took place on the sectoral side. A further proposal was starting to emerge but it did not meet those tests, which is to be regretted, in my view, and people on the other side also regret it. There is the idea that, once negotiations are commenced, they have to end up successfully - that is what one always hopes for - but, unfortunately, sometimes one does not get there.

See this speech in context