Shane Ross (Independent)

Therefore, we took what was given to us by our European partners and the International Monetary Fund in one of the most humiliating exercises in the history of the State. That is where we stand. The Government came home and told us we had no option and that default was not to be spoken about. This morning the Minister for Finance said on radio that we were not to talk about default. Why not? Because it is embarrassing for the Government. There has been a deliberate mix-up between what is in the national interest and what is in the interests of Fianna Fáil.