Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

To be fair to the Taoiseach, he instanced the incredible performance of our export sectors in recent years. Since 2003, the performance of Irish industry, indigenous and foreign direct investment companies, has been extraordinary in the teeth of a global recession. The Taoiseach's belated and long overdue endorsement of the previous Government's industrial policy is accepted and merited.

I am perplexed by the Taoiseach's comments regarding the NewERA project. This morning, he suggests that the failure to implement the project is the fault of the Labour Party. He drew a distinction between the Fine Gael Party and the current Government, describing that as a Fine Gael policy in the distant past that has been watered down and that we can forget about. I take it from the Taoiseach's comments that the Labour Party did not want to buy it or else it was a con job on the people of this country.

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