Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

Of course I would be. Deputy Lee is totally out of step with his party's front-bench spokesman on finance. He is totally out of step with all of the international advisers, whether it be the IMF, the ECB or the OECD. Every one of them has pointed out ad nauseam to Ministers, to the Taoiseach and, I am sure, to Deputies Bruton, Kenny, Gilmore and Burton when they have met them, that we must get our public finances in order. We do not have any options. There are no soft options here. For Deputy Lee to make a populist remark that there is an easy way out of this is outlandish.

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