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

The hotels, restaurants and shops greatly benefited. I still have the letter because I thought it was such a sign of entrepreneurship that the businesses were willing to seize the day of delight which came to the town. It was not a day of delight for me. I lived through all that and came out the other end. I did not lose my seat in the following election, despite all the furore.

It was a very difficult time but no permanent teacher at primary or post-primary level lost his or her job. There were teachers working on a temporary basis but any profession has temporary positions from time to time. The people who fill them know their mandate to work in the position is limited by the nature of the contract they entered. There are many positives in this budget.

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