David Norris (Independent)

The only comment on which I can agree with my colleague and friend, Senator Mary White, is that the Taoiseach has clearly demonstrated that Ireland is a place in which to do business. If one wants to rape a country, get every available asset and screw the people to the wall, it is a case of "Come on in, the shop is open," because that is what has happened under this Administration.

I take no pleasure in saying I do not have any confidence in the Government. I am an Independent and like to think I have friends in all parties. I supported the Government parties when I thought it was right and criticised them when I thought they were wrong. I said I believed they were on a wrong track from the beginning of the economic crisis and that I also hoped I was wrong and that the Minister for Finance was right because what is important to me is the best thing for the country. I have always tried to make it a principle in politics that I want to win an argument on my strengths, not on the weaknesses of others. I have not counted the number of mistakes because that would be mean, petty and silly and I do not care whether one side or the other made fewer mistakes. However, the mistakes have been absolutely catastrophic.

This House is a microcosm of the situation because it is unbelievably badly run. We have just had another example of this with the Leader standing up and not knowing where his authority ran or whether he would be contradicted from the clerk's desk and nobody knowing what would happen.