Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)

This is the courageous place to be. Deputy Ferris should take the bull by the horns for a change. We did not present the people with our manifesto for government and then tell them we had no intention of going into government. A motion at the 2010 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis called on Sinn Féin not to go into power with other parties such as Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, as this would be incompatible with its politics and damage the party. Is Sinn Féin putting itself or the country first?

I am man enough to front up and sit on the Government benches. I realise what must be done. Fair dues to Fianna Fáil, it did some hard work and made some mistakes, but it owned up to them.

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