Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I welcome the opportunity cúpla focail a labhairt ar an ábhar tabhachtach seo.

The Opposition's main thesis appears to be that the increases in public expenditure during what became known as the Celtic tiger years were unnecessary and wasteful. I believe this to be a remarkable argument coming from an Opposition, the biggest criticism of which at the time of that expenditure was that we were not spending enough. If I heard once I heard a hundred times the phrase, "The country is awash with money, why is the Government not spending more?"

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