Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy talks about documents that follow but I want to go back to the document he published before budget day. I ask him again where it is now. I am asking him this because it concerns a key point. The reason I am making a case for the levy – conscious of all the risks the Deputy referred to, because I accept they exist – is that the greater risk would be to pretend to the country that there is money to meet every vital need, including the mica need, and that no consequences or risks would flow from this. I stand with the Deputy in wanting to rebuild the homes and make a difference for those families who have been afflicted by the mica problem. I need to be honest, though, about the need for us to pay for this. I put it to the Deputy that he does not recognise in his budget proposals the choices that must be made and that is why his alternative budget is no longer available.

See this speech in context