Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

I do not have any sense of urgency from the Taoiseach in regard to this matter. I never had him chalked down as the shy, retiring, shrinking violet type, so I do not think it was this that led to his failure to raise this matter directly with the British Prime Minister. The Taoiseach said he discussed the bigger implications of the bailout deal. Did he discuss the issue of burden sharing, which is the bigger issue here? The Taoiseach is reluctant, hesitant and slow to make any sort of measurable progress on the interest rate and he refuses, as I see it, to deal with the issue of burden sharing and the core issue of the unsustainability of the debt. All the while, cutbacks bite and people suffer. The Taoiseach knows this as well as I do.

See this speech in context