Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Fine Gael for tabling the motion and I thank it for bothering to put the time and effort into proposing documents, hard policy choices and alternatives to those tabled by the Government. There has been a genuine change in the behaviour and attitude of the Members opposite. In these extraordinarily difficult times it is the responsibility of the Opposition not only to criticise or join the chorus of negativity emanating from the commentariat and those charged with analysing politics and the economy, but to propose very strong positive alternatives. Fine Gael is belatedly beginning to learn this as the crisis unfolds.

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