Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I know Castlebar well but not the particular venue. I understand it will not be a big venue.

The Taoiseach stated that people went mad borrowing in a system that spawned greed, went out of control and led to the crash. The people were at fault. He and I recognise that there were people who bought a number of apartments but the people who were most offended by his remarks are those who borrowed money to buy a home. They did not go mad. They borrowed not out of greed but to provide a home for their families. Many of them were cajoled to borrow large sums of money to buy homes during boom times. The prices of these homes had been driven through the roof because the policies of successive governments encouraged property speculation. The only reason I raise this issue is because the Taoiseach said in his state of the State address that the people were not at fault.

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