Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

It is important on a day like this, with everything that is going on, that we go about our normal business and I am really pleased now that the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, has come in just to hear me speak.

I look forward to supporting the Minister. I hope I can speak for everybody in the House when I say that he has a difficult job. Politics are politics and the election is on, but the Minister has a difficult task between now and whenever the budget is published, and we need to get a message across to him in that regard.

By the way, I have no hesitation in stating from the Government benches that it is always my belief - this is why I joined Fianna Fáil - that the Government and its successor must continue to protect the vulnerable, and I am not a bit afraid to say that because it is important we would do that.

I come from a humble Dublin background. I remember difficult times in Dublin all those years ago. I still live in Dublin, in Tallaght, and I am aware of the difficulties. Often I say that I bring to my politics my own life experiences. I have had many good experiences but I have also had many challenging experiences, including being made redundant on three occasions. I know exactly what it is like to go to the nice staff in the local social welfare office. By the way, not to be flippant, some of them have told me - I hope I do not get them into trouble - in recent days that if I am going back to them, they will look after me and do their best to facilitate me.

I listened carefully to all of the previous speakers. A previous speaker from the Opposition stated that this Government bought the people with their own money over the past decade. That is an opinion and one can say that.

See this speech in context