Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I reject all of the assertions put forward by the Leader of the Opposition and I defend the actions I took when I served as Minister for Finance. On the question of reckless spending, the national debt fell from 30% of GDP in 2004 to 25% last year. Debt service as a share of tax revenue fell from 4.7% in 2004 to 3.4% last year. In the years 2005, 2006 and 2007——

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