Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The question from this side of the House is not who chooses to support the Government on any particular vote; it is the price to be paid by the taxpayer for that vote. That is the issue we are trying to get to the heart of. The Minister for Finance last night invited the Opposition parties to open the books and look at them, to make decisions for the economic well-being and future of our country. Would it not be in the same spirit that the commitments made to the Independent Deputies, which obviously have a cost because some of them are claiming tens of millions, would not be part of that scrutiny? I ask the Taoiseach specifically whether the individual commitments which will cost the taxpayer money, made to the Independents for their vote, will be part of the overview, since he and the Minister for Finance have said everything is on the table.

See this speech in context