Rabbitte sets the record straight

For the record: Michael Clifford is too knowledgeable a journalist to be allowed misrepresent me (Irish Examiner, September 5) in respect of the 2012 TV programme The Week in Politics. 

In an exchange with Seán O’Rourke about the Government decision to cut child benefit I sought to explain the consideration that arose. O’Rourke cut me short saying “you never explained that before the election. You kept it very simple, ‘we won’t cut child benefit.’ I replied: “Isn’t that what you do in elections?” meaning “keep it simple”. I know that my opponents have often misrepresented the exchange but I suspect that Michael Clifford knows better.

Pat Rabbitte TD

29-31 Adelaide Road

Dublin 2