Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The Taoiseach was approached by a journalist who had a tape recording of what he said, at which point the Taoiseach had to acknowledge what he said. I have been lectured many times. However, I am big enough to take it. It is time for us to move on and to acknowledge what was done during the election in terms of the deceit and dishonesty perpetrated with wild abandonment throughout the country. How many more promises were made that were not recorded by journalists or uploaded to YouTube?

If we are to engage in honest politics, then let the debate begin. Let us be mature.

I will take on the chin criticism for my part in terms of where we are, but Members opposite equally have an obligation to the broader body politic and, more importantly, to the Irish people, who need leadership and to be able to trust their leaders to mean what they say, as opposed to simply trying to be populist for the sake of the pursuit of power. These are difficult times and Ireland is far from being out of the woods. It is far from turning the corner because there is a long way to go. If people genuinely believe in political parties and in the body politic, we will have a better opportunity to bring the people with us, rather than being divisive and fractured or having society turning on itself. This already happened to a certain extent before the last election, when there were private sector versus public sector debates and when parts of society were blaming others for their misfortunes. As this is a dangerous path for any Member to take, let them all be honest while trying to take the country out of difficult and uncharted waters.

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