Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

-----and where Governments have faced tough decisions and made them in the interests of their people with equality and fairness in mind the public have understood and rewarded them. What happened here is that the Government floundered around from disaster to disaster since Deputy Cowen took over the reins of Taoiseach. He did not listen to anybody for the past 12 months but by God the people came out in their hundreds of thousands and gave their verdict through the only weapon that they have which is the most powerful of all: the vote through the secrecy of the ballot box. He now knows the answer to the question of confidence in the Government.

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