Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On each occasion, Fine Gael and the Labour Party took hard decisions in the national interest to restore the economy to a state where it can pay for badly needed social services like free travel. When will Fianna Fáil disclose that, in its successful efforts to buy its way into power in three successive general elections, it destroyed the lives of thousands of people, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to emigrate and nearly reducing our economy to the status of a banana republic? As we move forward, having repaired the economy once again, we must do so cautiously. The Government wants to make real social changes that are sustainable for the future and to maintain the free travel pass, to which we are committed, and to provide other benefits to improve the quality of life for all the population, including the ageing population.

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