Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That party believes it owns the word "nation" as well as our flag, but it owns neither. Two parties of different ideological perspectives have come together to pursue a single shared aim. Deputies on this side of the House who support the Government do so not because it is easy. It is not easy. They do so because they know the long-term interest of the people requires decisions to be taken because the country does not enjoy the resources it once had. They do so because they know the national interest is more important than their own careers or the advance of their party. They do so because they recognise the world that faces us as it is, not as others would pretend it to be. They are putting their shoulders to the wheel, not hurling abuse from the ditch. None of that can be said about this motion or the party that has moved it.

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