Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The problem last night was there was no fresh thinking and no new ideas, vision or strategy. Instead, we were treated to a rant of rhetoric and negativity, the like of which I have rarely heard in this House. There was almost blind panic at the Abbott announcement yesterday, ignoring the fact that for every 500 jobs lost 1,800 are created in this country. This is a sign of a party not sufficiently confident to express any positive alternative and not mature enough to embrace the realities of a modern economy.

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