Double-speak: ‘I’m not going to say sorry for things I never said’
Budget speech to the Dáil December 9, 2009.
* Brian Lenihan: “A Cheann Comhairle, the worst is over.”
Fianna Fáil election launch at party headquarters in Dublin, February 3, 2011.
* Mary Regan (Irish Examiner): “You said in 2009 that the worst was over and in 2008 you said the bank guarantee was the cheapest bailout in the world....
* Brian Lenihan: “Sorry when did I say that the worst was over in 2009? Again these matters develop a life of their own, I find. Could you give me the reference to that please?
* MR: “In the budget speech in 2009”.
* Brian Lenihan: “That we turned the corner, that’s what I said. And in relation to the bank bailout, I never said it was the cheapest bailout in the world.
“I see many television programmes attribute to me other words, as you have. So I don’t blame you in any way for putting it to me that way because you would have picked it up in the atmospherics. It’s important when you are quoting something that you look at the reference of exactly what was said.”
* MR: “Instead of accusing the opposition of having unrealistic policies and questioning their credibility, is it not time for you to say what Micheál Martin said and say sorry for mistakes that were made?”
* Brian Lenihan: “I’m not going to say sorry for things I never said. I explained exactly what I said about the bank bailout. I saw it on several television programmes attributed to me what you said, I never actually used those words. I said ‘so far’... I simply said ‘so far we’ve had the cheapest bailout in the world’...So I’m not going to say sorry for something I didn’t say.”
* Justin McCarthy (Today FM): “But minister you did actually say the worst is over on the 9th of December in the Dáil. You used those exact words. Just to clarify that you did say those words.”
* Brian Lenihan: “Yes and that was the same as turning the corner. We did stabilise the economy, the worst was over... Look, we can get fixated about words but let’s be clear, that’s what we said and that was the economic record at the time.”
