Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I hope that as the economy turns around - it will be a greener economy because carbon tax is being introduced for the first time and local government reforms will be made over the coming years - we will be better able to compete. We are four times greater carbon emitters than the Chinese. We get three times as much social welfare as people in Northern Ireland. If one leaves out VRT and the sterling exchange rate, they have a much lower cost of living. We could emulate people in Northern Ireland.

We have lived beyond our means. Everyone loved the Celtic tiger years. Money was wasted and it was splashed out and people gladly took it. We can no longer afford that luxury.

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