Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I will have to stop Dr. Sweeney there. I used to hear that on a daily basis before the financial crash. Our wealth was made up of incomes and salaries and also property prices, both of which collapsed. Both of them went down the river at the same time. That was something that had the ability to fluctuate so we were not really one of the richest. Indeed, we still are not thus because we do not have the resources that most other countries in Europe have. I draw Dr. Sweeney's attention to the unfortunate example of Venezuela, where resources were plentiful but nothing applies now. What was once a thriving economy is nowhere to be seen at the present time.