Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know how this country survived given the amount of negative input from some quarters. Every single issue was negative. For those who suggested that they put the country on the right road before they left office, I have bad news. They did not. They made three attempts to do so and three times they failed. Three times they fell back again having been re-elected in 2007. Three times they came up to the wire and shied away from it. They failed and wilted, so they did not do it.

Without the leadership of Government over the past four years, nothing would have happened. We would have fallen back by the wayside again. To those who said this country will not survive, they were wrong. There were huge sacrifices. These were massive sacrifices made by the people of this country. Every aspect of human life was affected. It could not have been done otherwise. It is not true to say that only one sector of society carried the burden. Every sector of our society carried the burden, including those who are poor, those on middle incomes and the so-called rich. Everyone paid a huge price.

We have also learned a lesson. I hope we have now learned never to allow these things to happen again, never to be indiscreet in the way we handle our economy, to take every opportunity as it arises, to do the best we can, to be honest with ourselves and, instead of putting party allegiances and the future of political parties ahead of everything else, to put the good of the country ahead of everything else. This is hugely important now and always has been. For far too long, opportunities have opened up, it is alleged, for the benefit of a particular party or parties. There has not been the openings for such nonsensical-----

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