John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome Senator Naughton to the House and assure her the fine, nice and sincere words from Sinn Féin will be the last time Members of that party will ever say anything nice about her or about anyone else. I support the call by my colleague, Senator Cullinane, for a full debate at the earliest stage on economic policy and the budget, with particular reference to the comments made by a former IMF official during the week. It always disappoints me to hear those Senators and parties that claim to be more patriotic than the rest of us always harping onto the most negative and contrarian view in support of their own position, as well as so doing with a certain amount of gusto and enthusiasm. Only 18 months ago, that party was stating it would run the very same man out of the country. However, now that he happens to have made a comment that might be sympathetic to a position Sinn Féin has been holding, he is its new hero. Consistency is never a streak or trait one could associate with the Sinn Féin position. The position of Sinn Féin of course always has been to burn the bondholders, to vote against the European Union and to vote against the fiscal treaty. Were we to follow the advice of Sinn Féin on any of those areas, Ireland would now be somewhere north or south of the neolithic financial age.