John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

My question is about the need to have a balanced election campaign. The future of the country is at stake and we should continue to seek social cohesion through equity. That includes balance in the media, of which there appears to be little. The Government has been charged with blowing the benefits of the boom and doing everything wrong. There have been huge increases in public spending. In every debate there were calls from the Opposition for increased spending in every sector and Department. While this was happening, there was no sign from Opposition Members that they were anxious about the property and banking sectors. Fine Gael in its last manifesto even proposed to abolish stamp duty. It did not see this crisis coming, but it claims it knew that it was about to happen and is blaming us for it. We did what was necessary and there is an electoral price to be paid. We put the country first and, at the end of the day, will get the credit for it.