Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not surprised that politicians have over-egged the pudding in trying to claim credit for the roles they played in these negotiations. However, I was surprised to hear an official say in an official statement that "the final outcome represents a good outcome for Ireland" because there are differing views on that. We accept Ms Campbell's point that it can be classed as good that Ireland is still a net beneficiary. Our view and that of other people is that the overall reduction means it is not a good outcome for the country. It may well have been the only outcome that was possible in the negotiations, but that does not mean it is a good outcome or that the negotiations were successful. I wonder whether we pushed hard enough. I accept that the negotiations were difficult. The impression is being given that the negotiations were a huge success for this country. I do not think that position is shared by everybody. I was disappointed to see what I consider to be an opinion that is not shared for everybody - maybe it is going too far to say it is a political opinion - expressed as it was in an official text. It is not an opinion that is shared by me or by many of my colleagues.