Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

What progress are we really making? Yesterday, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, told the finance committee that growth projections will be revised downwards yet again. Little wonder, given the wrecking ball that the Government has taken to the domestic economy. The total number of people on the dole queue is 434,800, 14.3% of the workforce, and 100,000 households are in mortgage distress, yet the Government and its friends in the troika plan to impose a further €8 billion in cuts in the next three years.

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