Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Bhíos ag smaoineamh ar cén saghas comparáid a dhéanfainn i gcóir an díospóireacht anocht, agus bheartaigh mé ar chomparáid a dhéanamh le príosún. When we think about prisons, people go into them and there is an idea that they are either about incarcerating for punishment or, alternatively, rehabilitation. A person coming from prison might emerge in a crumpled suit or worn tracksuit carrying possessions in either a battered suitcase or a plastic bag. In many cases they face homelessness and unemployment. Some leave prison with a plan or a programme for recovery and entering society again, where they wish to play a role. One must ask the question of which scenario is applicable to us as we emerge from this prison of the bailout. Depending on one's perspective, our jailers - the troika - were either benevolent or malevolent. Leaving jail is of course a positive act and leaving the bailout must be acknowledged as a positive development, although many of us might think we should not have been in that position in the first place. It is rather ironic that those who brought the country into this scenario have not punished in any way whatever.

Certain economists tell us the Government has had a steady hand on the country during the bailout programme and it took tough decisions. I have no problem with tough decisions, provided they are fair and equitable, but the decisions taken certainly were not equitable, and they were tougher on certain sections of society. It was very difficult to take the comments today from the European Commission's top official working on Ireland's bailout to the effect that the better-off sections in society had paid a heavier price, as that argument is not borne out by reality. It is certainly not borne out in the world in which I live.

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