Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I shall carry on where my colleague Deputy Calleary left off by stating that the key in respect of this issue is independence. We have to keep the decision independent. When it was in the hands of politicians, the general public had a totally different perception of it. That is why we must keep it totally and utterly independent. I had not planned on speaking in this debate. Having been in the House since 4 p.m., I thought I had done enough speaking. As I sat in my office preparing for tomorrow's work, however, I heard the spin. Those who engaged in that spin are not here. Some are sitting at home with their feet up or are in the Dáil bar laughing at us.

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