Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

-----but he made a good speech earlier. He not only regretted some decisions that were made, he apologised for certain decisions. I respect someone who knows when to apologise. I will not say I have warmed to Fianna Fáil in government but I like to think I get on with those I work with on a daily basis in that party.

I am critical of decisions that were made during the boom years but I am critical of my own party also. We talked about moving away from boom time taxes, such as stamp duty receipts, but we also, along with the Opposition, advocated more spending. If we could relive the boom years every party would advocate different approaches to taxation, spending and not losing the run of ourselves when the tricolour was raised on London's Savoy Hotel.

That was then. This is now. How are we restoring confidence in providing the conditions to allow Ireland to recover? We have made appointments. Many speakers have talked about Matthew Elderfield and Patrick Honohan. I have much respect for both of those individuals. We have put in place a pay deal. The Labour Party sat on the fence when it came to the pay deal. They came down in favour of the deal once it was approved. That is not leadership. It is following the flock.

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