Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

Second, a quality of the Fine Gael Party that I have always admired is that of self-reliance, that one should provide for oneself where possible and should not rely on Government to do so. It is perhaps this which prevented Deputy Richard Bruton attending the debate on the medical card issue on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I am a little perplexed about this. As far as I am aware, having checked the matter on Google, Deputy Bruton did not speak on the issue on either Tuesday or Wednesday night but he did turn up for a vote on the matter at 8.50 p.m. as shown in the vote results on the Internet. I believe the reason for this is because he is imbued with the Fine Gael characteristic of self-reliance that one should not seek or act in a fashion that results in one scattering money all over the place but should, if possible, mind oneself.

It is interesting that nobody has, as yet, picked up on the fact that Deputy Bruton, the shining light of the Fine Gael Party, did not attend that debate.

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