Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I reject the thrust of this motion. For too long since this crisis emerged, some within this society have sought to divide the people by pitting public and private sector workers against each other. This has become almost a national pastime. The reality is that we require every worker and every sector of society to pull together in the national interest in order to get through this crisis.

Fianna Fáil's motion seeks to pit rural life against urban life. This may be a reflection of that party's anger at the capital city in particular which has chosen to reject Fianna Fáil utterly. The awful truth is that public spending cannot be reduced to the kind of levels necessitated by the inept management of this economy by the previous Administration, without placing a terrible burden on the people. We have further difficult choices to make on the road to regaining fiscal sovereignty. This Government may well make mistakes in some of the choices we make but we will be guided by the principles of fairness and job creation. The party opposite, in acknowledging its past culpability, might not pretend there are easy or pain-free alternatives.

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