Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

I thank all the Deputies who contributed to this debate. Unfortunately, however, there was little reference to the statutory instrument itself. Instead there were strong attempts by certain Members to visit the past and rewrite history.

I thank Deputy Michael McGrath for supporting this initiative, recognising the factual situation and dealing with the issue in a straightforward manner rather than seeking to gild the lily in any way. Deputy Pearse Doherty's piece of casuistry reminded me of Bart Simpson's defence, "We didn't do it, nobody told us, we weren't there, it was the other people". The record of the House shows that on the night Fianna Fáil proposed the guarantee it was supported by the Green Party, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, while the Labour Party voted against it. Those are the facts. Deputy Doherty can make his case in prose or in poetry but, either way, he is trying to rewrite history-----

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