Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

Today many of us witnessed scenes reminiscent of the French Revolution's storming of the Bastille. One could almost hear the tumbrels going down Kildare Street where people from all parts of the country were forced to take to the streets of Dublin. I congratulate them on taking part in today's march and I pay tribute to them for coming out in such great numbers. Many of them even travelled from my constituency of Clare.

The Minister and the Ministers of State present tonight should hang their heads in shame. Last week many of them could not wait to applaud their colleague. My God, one week makes an awful difference in politics. The former US President, Harry Truman, once said: "If you can't convince them, confuse them". For the past eight days the Government has been confusing the people.

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