Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach was speaking conversationally in a question and answer session. If I told Deputy Boyd Barrett that the people of Dún Laoghaire believe he is the best public representative in the greater Dublin area, it would not mean every one of them stated that view. The Taoiseach's reference to "the people" is a manner of speaking. He did not mean that everybody in Ireland was to blame for what happened.

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