Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Over the years land continued to get more expensive and a small number of developers grew in size and capacity. Huge amounts of EU Structural Funds landed in the coffers for massive road building projects and the like and gradually the golden circle was completed. Colleagues on the Fianna Fáil benches will not simply eradicate more than 60 years of sponsored cronyism with a single Bill no matter how much they wish or need to cleanse themselves of their past.

Let us not forget that under the watch of its current leader, then a senior Cabinet Minister, Opposition Deputies over many years regularly and loudly demanded legislation to tackle corporate donations but to no avail. It was not interested.

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