Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

It is important to point out that what we on this side are doing is affording an opportunity for both sides to mark their card. Rightly, the Government side should defend what it has done in the past year while we point out the flaws. The Government should be reminded that it is not so much about what it has been doing in the past 12 months that is critical but the long list of pre-election promises made to the electorate, which now feels let down. It was a bit like Roman emperors of yore arriving back from some far flung part of the Roman empire to the Eternal City to claim their birthright. That was how many of them felt when they came back last year. We all applauded the fact that there would be a fresh change. However, as politicians we also knew there was an underlying obligation on the part of the Government to ensure it tried to get back what was lost. That is a main focus of the Government but the people were asked to cast their vote for it on the basis of a whole range of statements made during the election campaign, most of which have not only not been adhered to. It appears likely the reason they were made was that the Labour Party would get a majority in order to have Deputy Eamon Gilmore as Taoiseach and on the part of Fine Gael to ensure it would have an overall majority and Deputy Enda Kenny would be Taoiseach. Both sides are guilty of over-egging the political pudding. In fact, the lads and lassies did not have to do it at all, except to turn up, such was the unpopularity of the last Government. It has made a bags of it and this has come back to haunt it.