Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The number of jobs lost as a result would have been in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. Let us cut through the nonsense. As Deputy Gilmore goes around the country suggesting he has a solution to problems by not reducing spending and claiming he will tax those with all the money and ensuring that those who are out of work will get back to work, he has no indication of how he would correct the public finances or provide credibility, internally or externally, to the country. That is what Deputy Gilmore is talking about. The Labour Party MEP, Alan Kelly, suggested the funds made available to Limerick Dell workers were going to the workers personally. That is the populist nonsense Deputy Gilmore is going on about. It will get him up in the opinion polls but will not get any credibility marks when it comes to policy formulation to solve the problems of this country. Deputy Gilmore should continue on with what he is doing; this Government will continue to do what it is doing-----

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