Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

As I recall it, next week will be the first anniversary of an interview the Minister gave to the Financial Times while in London on and around St. Patrick's Day last year. The visit formed part of a tour of financial centres to discuss the situation in Ireland. The Minister will recall his interview with the Financial Times. He referred to the issue of cronyism in Ireland and the fact that Ireland, to use Peter Bacon's phrase, had a crony capitalist structure. These were the Minister's words to the Financial Times and they were quoted on the billboards of the Financial Times. The Minister received some kudos at the time-----

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