Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)

It is how the Taoiseach is looking to avoid the mistakes of the past. I do not agree with the Government's overall approach and there are issues which I, members of the Government parties and others will have with the budget. However, this budget shows we can govern ourselves and are perfectly capable of making very hard decisions.

I will finish with a second quote from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, when he responded to the Fianna Fáil budget last year. He said: "This is the budget of a puppet Government, which is doing what it has been told to do by the IMF, the EU Commission and the European Central Bank." This new Government can escape that fate but right now, this budget is doing exactly what the Minister, Deputy Noonan, suggested that Fianna Fáil was doing the last time. I encourage the Government to return with radical new proposals.

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