Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I, and I imagine many people in the country, would like to raise issues such as the latest increase in gas and ESB prices or the latest botched job in privatisation. However, there is a surreal air about the House this afternoon from which we cannot walk away. The situation over the past five or six days has seen headlines about the coalition on the brink and the Tánaiste in hiding or considering new information given to him during the weekend. Independent Deputies are writing out their shopping lists. Deputy Healy-Rae will not come alone and will also deliver Deputy Fox. Deputy Cowley will deliver a larger group but not until after the general election.

Then we are expected to believe from a press conference today that all this was made up by what the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, refers to in his extraordinary speech from the dock as a "small minority of commentators". He states none of this ever happened.

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