Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have a brief opportunity to contribute to this debate, regardless of how ill-conceived the tabling of this motion of no confidence was. I was struck last week by a line in a piece about W.T. Cosgrave by the historian Michael Laffan, in which the endeavours of the last six years to rescue the State were compared to the task faced by Cosgrave in establishing the State in the first instance. There is a tendency in some quarters to talk down this country. In time, we will look back on the collective effort of the people of Ireland to rescue this country and we will be very proud of it. It will be seen as one of democratic Ireland's greatest achievements. Ireland has gone from being one of Europe’s sick men - the so-called PIIGS - to being the fastest growing economy in Europe. This real success is a real tribute to the fortitude of the Irish people.

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