Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

——with regard to all current spending.

Deputy Bruton's critique is that I will not reduce current spending quickly enough. I do not know where this will leave his figures. I seek to accommodate all day-to-day expenditure in the context of a responsible fiscal policy which will not compromise capital investment because this was the mistake made by past successive Governments when faced with the same dilemma.

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