Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is the first point. The second point is about the idea that I would not listen. When a correction was needed in 2001 and 2002 we were told by the Opposition that we should battle on and not make any adjustments or corrections. The Opposition was wrong on that because the economy bounced back far more quickly. We did not listen either when the Opposition said that not alone were we spending too much, but we were not spending enough in a whole range of areas. The Opposition cannot come in here now and suggest that they had a policy framework to ensure that none of this would ever happen.

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