Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

What we are trying to do and what we are doing in respect of the comprehensive decision made yesterday is to say to the people that this is the solution to put this right, to fix the system, to ensure people have access to credit and to ensure the country can get back on the path of growth again. If we do not do that, if we did not do what we did yesterday and pursue it and deal with it in the way that we have dealt with it, then we would have a period of stagnation like we have seen in many other parts of the world where they did not deal with the banking crisis. Is it true to suggest that we in Ireland are the originators of all of this, even though 18 EU countries have had to recapitalise banks and hundreds of billions of dollars had to be recapitalised and guaranteed in the US system?

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