Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform looks across to the Opposition benches for what he believes is a cold house for him. He is quite wrong about this because there was considerable concern on these benches for the manner in which he hyperventilated last night. I believe he is suffering from Stockholm syndrome, which occurs when the captives become so friendly with the jailers that they make common cause with them. I believe the Minister has been captured by Fianna Fáil.

The Minister went to the trouble of dictating a script, from which I wish to deal with a few points. His main concern is that a Labour Party-Fine Gael alliance would fall apart. He instanced the period from 1982 to 1987 as an example. The period between 1982 and 1987 is as close to five years as does not matter. He did not mention 1989 to 1992.

The Minister said 10% of the people were unemployed in 1997. He did not refer to the fact that in 1992, when his former leader — for whom he had more regard than he has for the present one — left office as Minister for Industry and Commerce, the unemployment rate was 14%. He tried to impute motives to me arising from exchanges I had with the Ceann Comhairle, in which he claimed I had referred to the Ceann Comhairle's family. I reject that claim. I made a political charge but did not refer to the man's family one way or the other.

The Minister outlined a mathematical formula which he considers very clever and which he has used on several occasions, including in an interview with Pat Kenny. The equation states: "Fine Gael plus Labour equals slump." This comes from the man who would have us believe "Fine Gael plus Labour plus Deputy McDowell equals success" and the only problem with the former equation is that the Minister is not included. He went on to claim that any alternative Government would be dependent on Deputies Cowley, Gregory and Finian McGrath and a Seamus Treacy. I do not know any Seamus Treacy and hope no Government has to rely on him but I recall a Government which relied on Harry Blaney and Tom Kildea and Deputies Fox and Healy-Rae.

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