John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

Significant numbers of the electorate voted primarily on two issues in the last election - honesty and fairness - and this was acknowledged by the current Government parties when in Opposition. People believed the last Government to have been dishonest in its dealings with them. They were told the economy was on a sound footing, when it was collapsing all around us, that the IMF was not coming into the country, when they arrived the next day, and so on. On the issue of fairness, there is a decency in Irish people and they came to the view that they would have to make some sacrifices and they did that. However, as they made those sacrifices, they watched bankers, developers, speculators who were creaming off society go untouched. Therefore, they voted out the last Government on these two issues.

What has changed? If we speak to the man in the street, nothing has changed.

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