Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

All political heads of Departments take full responsibility for their own decisions. Advice is given by people and we make our own decisions and our own judgments. These are political judgments and decisions that were made. I have sought to explain the rationale for the decisions, as I am entitled to do, given the position in which we found ourselves at the time. I have said that those decisions were based on advice that has subsequently been proven to be wrong, but that does not take away from the responsibility that I take for the decisions that I make. I have always made that clear, so any suggestions by the Deputy or anybody else that I do not take responsibility for decisions made is not correct. I have always accepted responsibility. That is the political and constitutional position.

The Deputy misrepresented the position on property tax incentives. I terminated 11 of those schemes after a full review.

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