John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

Senator Mansergh's contribution consisted entirely of an attack on what Fine Gael contends in its amendment. Senator Fitzgerald carried on in the same vein.

It is extraordinary to have this debate given the recent fiasco with electronic voting which involved the most scandalous waste of public money which we have seen in a long time. It is extraordinary to have a two-hour debate during which Members opposite pat themselves on the back about how good the Government is at managing the public finances when we know what has happened with electronic voting. It is a significant own goal.