Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Wait one minute; let us get this straight. The Senator cannot go around with the canard that somehow Fianna Fáil is supporting the property tax. We are not supporting it at this time. Our finance spokesperson, Deputy Michael McGrath, has made it quite clear that we will not support this tax. He has also stated publicly that he believes it was wrong for the then Fianna Fáil Administration to agree to the troika request in 2010. The party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, is on record as saying that, at the time when the then Government made that commitment, the economic situation was vastly different from what it is now. The Government has constantly perpetuated the view that matters are bad. How many times have we heard Ministers say the country is bust? Matters did change. When Fianna Fáil is accused of being in favour of this tax on one occasion and not being in favour of it now, it must be remembered the Government has a monopoly of changing its mind. On how many of its promises has it changed its mind in the past two years, apart from some achievements which the Minister will be happy to illustrate to the House? It is perfectly feasible for a political party to have an evolving policy and change it depending on circumstances.