Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Be sure that a motley crew of bad mannered amadáin, lobby fodder for the Government, will not silence us. We have a mandate to be in this Chamber and will make our voices heard clearly. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin beat me to it the other day when he told us that he had heard the North mentioned more often in the past nine months than he had at any other time in his 15 years in the Dáil. Sadly, this newfound interest springs from the desire to distract attention from the Government's policies. It is not a concern for anyone in the Six Counties. Sometimes it is expressed as part of the general juvenile bubble that I have just spoken of, other times it comes from Ministers, including the Taoiseach, and usually the remarks are self-serving, inaccurate and incorrect. Such remarks diminish him and his office. The Taoiseach and Ministers know that the Executive in the North does not have fiscal autonomy. It cannot raise revenue through taxation and I would welcome the support of the Government parties for a campaign to take fiscal powers for the Executive from London to Belfast.

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