I think it was the new Taoiseach who referred to the fact that he would be forming a reformed Government but in the list of names he has put before us this evening I find included in that team ten of the same tired old faces that we have been facing across the floor for the past two-and-a-half years. There are included also three of the former junior Ministers and two new Ministers, Deputies Power and Reynolds. I am not in a position to comment on the abilities of the last mention two because I have not had the privilege of hearing them in the House since Fianna Fáil's return to power. Consequently, I must reserve judgment on them. Since so many of the same faces are being retained, it is worth putting on record that all of these have a responsibility for the infamous manifesto which was the means of Fianna Fáil winning the election in 1977 but what is even worse, they have responsibility for the chaotic condition of the country today.
I know that the manifesto is old hat, that people are fed up hearing about it. Indeed, there are many in Fianna Fáil who are totally sick of any mention of that document and who would like to forget it. However, we must bear in mind that it is only on the basis of that manifesto that we can get an idea of the policies which the Government may be implementing in the future. Clearly, most of the promises of the manifesto have not been implemented and it is on that basis rather than on the personalities of the proposed members of the Government that I shall speak.
There was a clear commitment in the manifesto to concentrate on getting the wheels of the economy moving again and on keeping it that way. There was a commitment to create new jobs and opportunities, to develop existing employment and to provide security and stability for those who have suffered most from inflation—the housewife, the elderly and those on fixed incomes. If we examine the economic record of the Government to date, the record of the people we are asked to endorse as members of the Cabinet, we find that in this year we have borrowed £1,000 million, half of it from abroad, and most disturbing of all is the fact that it is not for capital purposes. Our external payments deficit has increased from £165 million to £650 million while our external reserves have fallen by 40 per cent from £1,250 million to £750 million. Largely as a result of the policies of the Coalition Government the inflation rate was brought down to 6 per cent in 1977. I want to be fair about this matter and I admit that there were some contributory factors in the early days of 1977 when Fianna Fáil came back to power. According to the latest estimates from the Central Bank and the ESRI, the inflation rate will be 15 or 16 per cent in the current year. The growth rate has dropped from 6½ per cent to 2½ per cent, again according to the forecasts I mentioned.
That is the chaotic economic situation existing today. What must be clearly on the record so far as the reformed Government are concerned is that essentially they are the same men who have created this record today. It is on that basis we must judge whether they are worthy and merit the support of this House to continue in government at all.
Again, there was a commitment in the manifesto that there would be a programme of specific policies on which the legislation and reform of the next Government would be based. Even then we had the word "reform"— a word we are now hearing once again. It would be fair to ask, is this the policy of the reformed Fianna Fáil Government because clearly the commitment to provide specific policies, legislation and reforms to implement the various aspects of the manifesto have not been provided in the past two-and-a-half years? Let us have it put on the table if there is now to be an admission that this cannot be done, that there is to be a new direction in the affairs of the nation. Pending that, I have no option but to judge this new collection of names on their record to date, a record for which they have been responsible.
It is on that basis one must raise the questions about the commitments made in regard to the multitudinous aspects of the manifesto. There was the "Buy Irish" campaign that was going to switch 3p in the £ to Irish goods. There were promises on prices but it is clear from the inflation rate that not only were these promises not kept but they were reversed. There was the infamous scheme which was supposed to lead to the aboliton of ground rents; there were the promises in regard to family law tribunals; there were various promises in the law reform area; there were promises in regard to the 50-mile limit and many more. These promises were the basis on which Fianna Fáil came to power and are the basis on which they remain in power. They have not been kept and it is on that record and on those non-achievements that we have to judge the collection of names put before us for our approval and confidence.
While I am dealing with the Fianna Fáil manifesto I should like to refer to one other promise and to draw this to the attention of the new Taoiseach. I should like him to make a note of this because I think the House is entitled now to a specific reply. There was a promise in the manifesto to set up an independent electoral commission to deal with constituency boundaries and put an end to all charges of gerrymandering. I do not know if the Taoiseach will speak in this debate. If he does I should like him to deal with that specific point in his contribution or, if not then, at the earliest possible date. Will he confirm the specific and clear commitment given in the Fianna Fáil document of 1977 that there would be an independent electoral commission to deal with constituency boundaries to end all charges of gerrymandering? I shall await the reply of the Taoiseach to my question.
We have to judge these people whose names have been put before this House on the basis of their participation in the preparation of that manifesto and on the state of the nation today. In recounting their record, are we now to believe that from some untapped source, from some deep spring sunk in the depths of the Fianna Fáil Party, there is to be a new inspiration for these people? I look on all of them as human beings. The sins of the past weigh heavily on them. I am prepared to give them a chance to mend their ways but I can only judge them on the basis of their past record.
This country has enormous problems, very many of them created by the Fianna Fáil Government who were elected in 1977. Unfortunately, it is clear that many of the options that would otherwise be open have been narrowed by the profligate, and in many cases not very sensible, manner in which Ministers have exercised their powers. It is in the interests of the country that these problems be resolutely tackled and resolved. For that purpose we need a united Government and this is another factor which, even if there were nothing else, would give rise to very considerable hesitation on my part in voting confidence in this regime. It is clear that despite the needs of this country now for a united Government they are divided in a most fundamental way. In fact, they are divided in far more respects than would be the case with a normal Government and Opposition. This goes to the manner of selection of the new Cabinet. Can we fairly say that this Government were chosen on the basis of merit only? Was that the criterion which motivated the selection of this new Government? It is clear to me this was not so. I may be paying an unexpected tribute to some of the disappointed backbenchers but it is clear to me that this was not the criterion on which this Government were selected. It was stitched and patched together and can now be compared to a patchwork quilt.
In the selection of this Government the record of the retained Ministers does not appear to have been considered. The overall talent that lies within the Fianna Fáil Party—one has to be honest about this matter and say that there is a lot of talent in that party—was not considered when putting down this list of names before the House. When one looks at it it is clear that there were two overriding factors. The first was the promotion of known supporters within the Fianna Fáil Party. The second was an attempt to win over the internal opposition in Fianna Fáil. Those factors concern me because the Opposition want to see the best done for this country. Therefore, it seriously concerns me that we should have before us tonight a list of names selected on that basis. It appears that the needs of Fianna Fáil were uppermost in the preparation of this list of names. I do not say that the needs of the country were entirely neglected but I do say that it is clear from the composition of the new Cabinet that the needs of Fianna Fáil were uppermost.
Therefore, we end up with a divided Cabinet that is facing the enormous problems of the eighties and I fear for this country facing that prospect. I believe that the problems which I mentioned can be resolved with resolution, with a degree of initiative on the part of the new Cabinet provided they work together, provided they work individually and provided they produce the results which have been so sadly lacking over the last two-and-a-half years.
We have difficulties in regard to industrial relations which have been a disaster since 1977. I see that the outgoing Minister who presided over that disaster is expected to reverse that serious problem. His record to date does not give me any confidence that he will be able to reverse the frightful trend that has developed over the last few years, resulting in the loss of more man hours in 1979 than for a combination of previous years. It is clear that there must be action in this area, not insensitive heavy-handed action but action that is going to be based on a proper industrial relations policy.
Action is needed in regard to prices. It is very easy for people to throw up their hands and say, "Nothing can be done; everything is going to go up day by day". However, after the calamity of the oil crisis the previous Government were able to reduce inflation so that in 1977 it was down to 6 per cent. It has climbed again into double figures and is now up to 15 per cent or 16 per cent. The point I want to make is that it can be done. I am putting it to the new Government that it must be done.
There are problems in many other areas. In regard to taxes there is a feeling of injustice on the part of the PAYE sector and there is a feeling of injustice on the part of the farmers. I hope that the new Taoiseach, being a city man, will not forget that there is a deep-seated feeling of injustice. When he is dealing with the 187,000 farmers, I hope he will not have them sitting down in the street in front of his office. I hope he remembers that the majority of those farmers are small farmers and that the policy of loading levies on to their creamery cheques, irrespective of whether they come near the taxable bracket, is not justice.
There are other problems but my basic message is that all these problems can be resolved by an imaginative approach. The first priority of this Government must be to get down to tackling the problems. There are problems in regard to the frightful traffic chaos in our towns and cities. There are problems in regard to social welfare. A breakdown in the system resulted in long delays in the issuing of social welfare cheques to certain categories. This was a serious matter to the recipients who were awaiting their cheques. Inside an office in a Government block it does not matter whether cheques are delayed for a week or a month, but if one is sitting in a cold room with little food, one is waiting for the postman's knock. That problem can be tackled. It must be a priority of the new Government. It can be dealt with by the simple process of reducing the bureaucratic steps in that area and getting more efficiency into the Department.
The new Government are well aware of the problem in regard to housing. It is of concern that this area has not received any funds of any consequence in recent years if one takes into account the extra cost of housing and the rate of inflation. One must look at the number of houses built, particularly those for the weaker sections of our community. There has been a significant reduction in local authority housing.
All these problems can be resolved. This is a good country, a strong country and it can, with resolution, be brought back from the edge of the precipice to which it has been driven by the present Government since 1977. It can be rescued from the depths of the virtual depression into which it has sunk. Nothing very radical is needed to do it except a bit of vision, a bit of initiative and a bit of hard work. It may be too much to hope that the new administration will undertake this task with great resolution when one bears in mind that those who created this mess are not suited to the task of cleaning it up.
It is clear that the original team which ran the country was not competent. The public, as far as they had a chance, made a decision on that team in the Cork by-elections. That decision amounted to a yellow card for the entire team; they were put on a warning that their performance was not good enough. While I can point out to the reformed team what can be done, I cannot expect with any great confidence that they will be able to tackle those problems. The reformed team is going into action without any popular mandate. The team which was rejected in the Cork by-elections has been reshuffled but is, essentially, the same. We do not know whether the manifesto has been jettisoned or rejigged, but we have a new leader and a reformed team. I do not know whether we have a reformed leader, but his reformed team does not have a popular mandate. We must remember that the 1977 election was fought on the basis of a manifesto which referred to a vision and a strategy for national reconstruction. The manifesto stated:
It has been carefully put together and costed for implementation in government by a new team under Jack Lynch as Taoiseach.
The reformed team is not under Deputy Jack Lynch. It is under a new leader and the decent thing for him to do is to go to the country and get a popular mandate. I am making that suggestion in a serious manner. The electorate should be given an opportunity to decide what they feel the country needs by way of leadership. It is my belief that if the people were given that opportunity they would go for a reformed Government, an open Government and one that would be totally reformed in the true sense of the word. They would go for a Government of new ideas and idealism, a Government of vision led by Deputy Garret FitzGerald.
