Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish Deputy Cowen and his family all the best at this tough time for them. We in the Rural Independent Group will speak without fear or favour on issues affecting rural Ireland and the people we represent. We will not be downtrodden or bullied by Sinn Féin or anybody else. This is the party that did not want to go into government, but it wants to have seats in the front row of the Dáil and all the Opposition speaking time, and it wants to limit all the roles for smaller groups. The new politics that Sinn Féin wants is to take us back to the past.

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