Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The poor have a vote and they are waiting for the Government. Almost 500,000 people are unemployed and many families have suffered over the past two years and will suffer for the next 30 years. People bought property because of the tent in Galway. The builders, the bankers and the friends of Fianna Fáil were told to keep building while the Government made sure it kept building up the economy. They made sure the greed continued. They made the builders rich and made the banks pour out the money. I compliment the people who produced the two reports published last week. At least someone was blamed at last. The Government and the Taoiseach of the day, Deputy Cowen. The regulator must have been at the Galway races and must have stayed there for the past ten years because he regulated nothing in the office in this city.

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