Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

In light of this morning's comments by the leader of Fine Gael and Members of this House, when will the Taoiseach take seriously the issues of bipartisanship and support from all political parties? I ask this in the context of the comments made by Senators Ó Murchú and Boyle. The difficulty this side of the House has is that 10% of the people have confidence in the Government. President Obama has an opinion poll rating of 68%. More importantly, he has reached across the aisle and has taken the offer of help from a number of Republican Senators, unlike the position here. This is not the time for adversarial politics. We have offered policies. I have a folder containing the Fine Gael nine-point plan, recovery through reform and proposals on the banking crisis and recapitalisation.

Senators Hanafin, Walsh and Ó Murchú should listen to me.