M J Nolan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I am not one bit shocked. As I said at the outset, I have no problem supporting this. The Government recognises its mistake and has now come forward with new proposals.

The problems we are experiencing are not of our own making. There is an international global financial crisis for which we are not responsible. It is partly due to irresponsible lending by banks in the UK. We are in a recession and whether one likes it or not, we will have to make far more difficult decisions in the coming years.

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