David Norris (Independent)

I call for a full debate on the economy. I am not entirely critical of the Government. It has been responsible for some good management. I did not have the opportunity to contribute yesterday but I am sure the question of Davos was raised. I wish to raise it again because it seems to me that we did not go mad. I strongly resist that statement. I remember saying in this House - and being joined by people on all sides of the House when the situation occurred first - that it was not the Irish people who went mad. One has to look at the audience to which the Taoiseach was addressing himself. We have been told that we have to pay out money to gangster banks and hedge funds to prevent reputational damage. What reputational damage was done by the Taoiseach by speaking to this international audience of bankers and people who were partly responsible by saying that we all went mad?