Feargal Quinn (Independent)

A great deal of work is being done by private individuals and there is much philanthropy. However, this is not enough. We must support it. Many people go to bed hungry every night. It is a far cry from what we call poverty in Ireland. We are very fortunate to have the way of life we do. I mention this because I did not hear Peter Sutherland this morning and I am sorry I missed the interview. This is a time when we need inspiration. We have great success stories in Ireland even at a time of worldwide difficulties. One of these is Pallas Foods in Limerick, which was a supplier to my company over the years. The business was sold to a US company which identified what Pallas Foods does. The Geary family started the company 30 years ago. At a time when the market is reducing by 20% it has increased its business dramatically in recent years. This is a real success story. The family is still running the business and plans to expand throughout Europe. I take this as an instance because there are great success stories even in a bad time just as there are failures in good times. Let us ensure we do not concentrate all the time on the failures but recognise that there are successes and concentrate on them.