Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this Bill. One's credulity is stretched when one hears the submissions made to the House in the climate we have lived in for the last several years. The Government has been accused of being arrogant and impervious to the needs of the people. I begin to wonder whether we have all been living in the same country. I readily accept that the measures taken by the current Government have severely impacted on many of our people, including people we all know and respect or have worked with for many years. We all know the challenging times we have come through and how they have affected the people we represent. They have made huge sacrifices to bear their burden in the clear knowledge they are going in a particular direction. I hope that direction will, by the end of the year, allow us to break out of the strait jacket imposed on us for the last several years. We should get away from the nonsense and play acting of recent times, including playing to the gallery and trying to curry favour.

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