Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

We have a relatively wealthy economy but only recently has that been the case. For many years we suffered from a lack of investment because the money was not available. We have done well in recent years on the back of the Celtic tiger and of good policy decisions by all sides — the Government is to the fore in that but Fine Gael also had an input. Senator Bannon should recognise, however, that the country was very poor for a long time, with weak infrastructure. Some of the eastern European countries have fantastic infrastructure that predates their current difficulties. We can only spend at the rate at which we are earning.