Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

My answer was in response to a question about a budgetary issue. I am concerned that the remark was misinterpreted by people in a certain way. I gave the standard reply that I give to any query about the budget before the Budget Statement, that is, it is not in my power to pre-empt my Cabinet colleagues on any budgetary issue. Therefore, if the Deputy asks me any specific question about what the Government might or might not do in the budget, I cannot answer her in May. I gave a generic answer, as I have to do in these cases. That is because it would be wrong to start answering specific questions before Cabinet discussions on any budgetary issue. I regret that when I gave what I thought was a generic answer - one that a media person, who is an ex-Minister, would understand perfectly as being the only answer that a Minister could give in the circumstances - it was not taken at face value. At this stage, it is not for me to make any comment on what might or might not be in a budget. I understood that would be taken as being the way we ought to operate.

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