Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Progressive Democrats, to support the candidacy of Deputy Brian Cowen for Taoiseach. It is generally acknowledged that Deputy Brian Cowen has great intelligence and abilities. He uses those abilities very much to play as part of a team, which has been his hallmark. Notwithstanding his youthfulness — he is the youngest of the candidates nominated this afternoon — he has enormous political experience having held the Ministries of Labour, Health and Children, Foreign Affairs and more recently Finance and the position of Tánaiste. He uses the ability he has been given to work for his community.

We constantly hear the same speech from Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. The fact is that a child born in Ireland today will live longer than a child born in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium——

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