Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

——and we will wish Deputy Kenny well in his vote of no confidence.

It is something of an own goal on behalf of the Opposition when they table a motion like this. It is a damp squib tabling a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach when their own party is in such disarray. An election in the morning — they all are shouting for it — would be the last thing they would need because they do not even have a leader and they do not know where they are going.

To get down to the real matter, Fine Gael is supported by Labour, from whom there is a no show here tonight with the exception of Senator Alex White, who does not even think it worth his while to stay and listen to Fine Gael's contribution. One wonders what kind of a coalition Government they would make if they were in power.

As has been outlined here today, we had manifestos, scripts and speeches of Fine Gael and Labour together on the record of both Houses from 2007. If they had had their way, we could not have spent enough, built enough — it was spend, spend, spend. When we tightened the reins and pulled back on the section 48, section 23 and section 21 in the budget of 2006, under the Taoiseach, then Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, we had a surplus of €5 billion. He put away €3 billion to bring down the national debt and he was called a miser by the party on the opposite side. They cannot have it every way. Their memories are short, but go back to their manifesto of 2007 and see what they were looking for.

We are the Government. We have the leader. One can see by the numbers on this side of the House tonight. They are not single figures like there are on the other side. We have the man who will lead the country and put it above an opinion poll, and when an opinion poll comes out and is bad for his party, he will come into the parliamentary party and say to us that he will make no apology for putting country before party. I applaud him, as I have done in the parliamentary party, for doing that. Fine Gael gets one bad opinion poll and they fall to pieces and are looking to get rid of their leader. I wish them all well tomorrow.