Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with my good colleague, Deputy Sheehan.

It attacks my patience to its elastic limits to listen to Deputy Fahey and his party giving lectures about political responsibility to members of the Fine Gael Party. Like Deputy Fahey, I have been a Member long enough to know what it is to be both politically responsible and politically irresponsible. I was a backbencher during the Fine Gael-Labour coalition Government in the 1980s and I recall the bear pit politics and circus in this House, the centre of democracy in this country, engaged in by Deputy Fahey and his colleagues, a number of whom are Ministers today. The Minister of State, Deputy Curran, may not recall these times but I recall the shenanigans in the House every day during that period. I will not listen to lectures from Deputy Fahey or any other Government backbencher about being politically responsible.

When the country's interest is on the line, Fine Gael always steps up to the plate and I only have to go back two or three weeks when the financial future of the country was about to disintegrate and not to the 1980s or 1980s for the latest example. Fine Gael, led by Deputies Kenny and Bruton, stood up and backed the Government to the hilt. I was a Member when the Tallaght strategy was adopted. Fine Gael supported the Government and the strategy of which Alan Dukes was the architect but there are vital differences between today and 1987.

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