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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 May 2008

Vol. 653 No. 5

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion.

Tairigim: "Go gcomhaontóidh Dáil Éireann leis an Taoiseach d'ainmniú na dTeachtaí seo a leanas chun a gceaptha ag an Uachtarán mar chomhaltaí den Rialtas."

I move: "That Dáil Éireann approve the nomination by the Taoiseach of the following Deputies for appointment by the President to be Members of the Government:

Máire Ní Chochláinn

Mary Coughlan

I also propose to nominate her as Tánaiste.

Brian Ó Luineacháin

Brian Lenihan

Máire Ní Áirne

Mary Harney

Nollaig Ó Díomasaigh

Noel Dempsey

Diarmuid Ó hEachiarn

Dermot Ahern

Micheál Ó Máirtín

Micheál Martin

Máirtín Ó Cuilinn

Martin Cullen

Éamon Ó Cuív

Éamon Ó Cuív

Máire Ní Ainifín

Mary Hanafin

Liam Ó Deaghaidh

Willie O’Dea

Seán Ó Gormlaigh

John Gormley

Éamon Ó Riain

Eamon Ryan

Breandán MacGabhann

Brendan Smith

agus

and

Parthalán Ó Caoimh

Batt O’Keeffe

They will be assigned Departments of State as follows:

An Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta

Máire Ní Chochláinn

An Roinn Airgeadais

Brian Ó Luineacháin

An Roinn Sláinte agus Leanaí

Máire Ní Áirne

An Roinn Iompair

Nollaig Ó Díomasaigh

An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt, Comhionannais agus Athchóirithe Dlí

Diarmuid Ó hEachiarn

An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha

Micheál Ó Máirtín

An Roinn Ealaíon, Spóirt agus Turasóireachta

Máirtín Ó Cuilinn

An Roinn Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta

Éamon Ó Cuív

An Roinn Gnóthaí Sóisialacha agus Teaghlaigh

Máire Ní Ainifín

An Roinn Cosanta

Liam Ó Deaghaidh

An Roinn Comhshaoil, Oidhreachta agus Rialtais Áitiúil

Séan Ó Gormlaigh

An Roinn Cumarsáide, Fuinnimh agus Acmhainní Nádúrtha

Éamon Ó Riain

An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Iascaigh agus Bia

Breandán MacGabhann

An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Parthalán Ó Caoimh

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Mary Coughlan

Department of Finance

Brian Lenihan

Department of Health and Children

Mary Harney

Department of Transport

Noel Dempsey

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Dermot Ahern

Department of Foreign Affairs

Micheál Martin

Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism

Martin Cullen

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

Éamon Ó Cuív

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Mary Hanafin

Department of Defence

Willie O’Dea

Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

John Gormley

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Eamon Ryan

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Brendan Smith

Department of Education and Science

Batt O’Keeffe

I propose to nominate Paul Gallagher, S.C. for appointment by the President, to be the Attorney General.

In putting forward these names for the approval of the House for their appointment by the President, I should like to indicate my thinking about the priorities which my Government will observe.

We meet at a time of considerable global uncertainty. This applies to international economic conditions, reflecting the impact of turbulence in financial markets, inflationary pressures associated with the market for commodities, especially oil and food and the economic consequences of significant realignments in the geopolitical order. We face the more strategic challenges of climate change and the appropriate response to be made across all sectors of the economy, both domestically and internationally. We face the reality of international migration flows, and the human disaster of under-development which gives rise to them.

More immediately, at home we have the reality of an economy in transition to lower levels of growth: from an unsustainable level of activity in the housing market to a more balanced provision for a mature but growing population, with housing needs which will continue to require levels of housing output that are relatively high by European standards. That has had a direct impact on employment and tax revenue. However, the pace of activity across the economy is otherwise very resilient. Significant investment decisions are being announced which reflect the reality that Ireland is a good place to do business, and to make and renew investment. Our underlying competitive advantage is being strengthened by the rapidly improving physical infrastructure available to service the needs of our economy and society. Our research capacity and the scientific base for innovation across all sectors of the economy are being transformed through the policies and investments of the Government, and the growing commitment of business, both domestic and foreign, to deepening their research presence here.

In short, we have every reason to be confident about our economic future and about the social development which it makes possible. My Government will pursue the strategic direction set out with great clarity in the programme for government adopted last year. That programme, in turn, acknowledges and reinforces the importance of the agreed framework with the social partners contained in Towards 2016. In line with that agreement, we recognise the importance of the interdependence between economic and social development. We accept the value of ambitious goals to drive our performance over the years ahead. We are committed to deepening the sources of competitive advantage for Ireland in the changing and globalising economy. We recognise the importance of innovation and skill development at all levels, and not just in our universities and research centres. We acknowledge the importance of social development, of enabling all of our citizens and especially our young people to achieve their full potential at each stage of the life cycle. We assert the imperative of environmental sustainability in what we do as an economy and as a society.

In particular, we are committed to public services which are effective in meeting the needs of a more diverse and more demanding society, and which provide value for money through the flexibility and accountability appropriate in a modern democracy. These will be public services that place citizens and their needs at the centre of all that is done and planned, that are designed and delivered with the consumer rather than the provider in mind, and that apply new technology and new ways of doing things on a par with the best in the world.

Let us be clear about where we are going as a society. Let us be equally clear about how we will achieve our goals. We will do it, first of all, by avoiding the mistakes of the past. We know only too well from our relatively recent economic history that the wrong policies, the wrong decisions and the wrong behaviour can carry a very high price in an economy as open and dependent on international trade as we are. Therefore let us be realistic about how we manage short-term challenges so as not to prejudice our medium to long-term prospects.

The first lesson I draw from that is the need to secure our place at the heart of Europe, as a shaper and influencer of policies that will benefit our people. Failing to ratify the European reform treaty because of some misguided attempt to send a message about issues, which have nothing whatever to do with the treaty, can only weaken our position of influence. For that reason, my first priority and that of the Government will be the ratification of the treaty on 12 June.

The Government is being formed at a time when the terms of Towards 2016 are being reviewed with the social partners and talks on a new pay agreement within that framework have begun. I look forward to working with the social partners to chart a course for the period ahead which is in line with our shared objectives, which reflects the realities of the situation in which we find ourselves, and which enhances rather than diminishes our capacity to secure jobs and living standards for tomorrow and for the long term. There is urgency in moving towards an agreement since the conclusion of an appropriate agreement would, in itself, convey the strength and confidence of the economy in an uncertain world. I look forward to engaging with the social partners on these issues in the period ahead.

One important dimension of the partnership process has been its application in the public service. The recent report from the OECD shows clearly that the Irish public service performs strongly across a range of dimensions of both efficiency and effectiveness. However, it must be acknowledged that there are problems that need to be addressed. There is, overall, insufficient focus on performance that delivers outcomes in line with the needs of citizens. Even our public service reform process has correctly been categorised by the OECD as too inward facing without sufficient engagement with the complex and diverse needs of citizens in an integrated and flexible manner.

There are several initiatives in place which are already addressing many of the challenges identified by the OECD. I intend to pursue a comprehensive programme of renewal which integrates these initiatives and moves us forward together towards a world-class public service equipped to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. I am heartened by the comments of several leaders of public service trade unions about the importance and urgency they attach to this task. I look forward to working with them to realise our shared ambition for a renewed and flexible public service that can continue to command the respect and confidence of our citizens and taxpayers. I will shortly announce the appointment of a task force on the public service to report to Government before the summer break with a comprehensive programme for action.

Nowhere is the need for a new approach more acute than in the health service. Despite the vast sums of money invested in the provision of health services over the past decade we continue to face massive challenges. We all want better outcomes but the last decade has shown that money on its own will not achieve them. Government must take forward the case for accelerating reforms in the system to allow the modern advances in the provision of medical treatment to flourish. It may not be a uniformly welcome approach. In the past the local county hospital was the centre of the medical universe. There was quite understandably a great affinity with that model of health service provision. It served us well then. However, today, if we want to ensure better and more comprehensive and sophisticated levels of care and better outcomes, we must change the mind set. The status quo plus just will not work.

Across the public service all the Government wants on behalf of the people it serves is better outcomes for its citizens. In the case of the health service, it is about properly organising to international standards of safety what services we can provide to help save lives, not where we can provide them. We need to view hospitals as networks not stand-alone institutions. Clinicians working together in line with best international practice will be the best guarantee for better health outcomes for our people.

Similarly, primary care teams led by GPs and working with an increased out-of-hours service are critical if we are to off-load unnecessary service pressures in accident and emergency departments of hospitals where inappropriate attendance takes place for ailments that can easily be handled if a co-ordinated primary care service is simultaneously in place. I understand this is challenging. It can be emotive. However, doing things in new ways will help us sustain and deliver better outcomes for patients. Experience elsewhere tells us this.

Recently I visited the Cuisle Centre in Portlaoise where I met women recovering from cancer. It is a remarkable place and they are remarkable women. I left there reassured that — in spite of all of the serious problems we still have with the reform of the health service — we are making progress. I talked with women that day who had suffered with serious cancer. Their concern was the quality of their treatment. No one should ever play politics with people's lives. The dignity of the women I met there reinforced me in that belief.

My appeal to all Members of this House is that when it comes to the provision of public services generally and to the health services in particular let us keep the debate on what matters — outcomes and delivery. Dressing up sectional arguments to reinforce the status quo or the existing positions of well-established vested interests does not serve the real needs of the people in the short or the long term.

I have decided not to make any significant changes to the allocation of functions between Departments at this time. There are some adjustments I will mention in a moment. However, it is right at this time that the focus should be squarely on the successful management of the immediate challenges we face and which I have already described. Ministers and their Departments have a clear framework for action and will have an explicit set of priorities from our programme for Government. However, we should give consideration to the way in which the business of Government is structured and organised. The report of the OECD sets out some useful pointers in that regard. The Government will consider this issue in due course and I anticipate that some changes in departmental responsibilities, planned and managed in an appropriate way and implemented at the right time, could enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service in the years ahead. This will be an evolutionary process.

For the present, there are two adjustments that should proceed with immediate effect. The first is that the responsibility for producing an action plan for the knowledge society will be co-ordinated by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The impact of converging communications technologies creates a new context and our strategy for success in the knowledge economy should be developed and co-ordinated in close association with that branch of policy. The action plan will take account of the responsibilities of all of the relevant Departments and will, I expect, be published over the summer. Responsibility for e-Government will be consolidated in the Department of Finance, to which responsibility for the public service broker project has already been transferred.

The second adjustment I am making is that the Office of the Minister for Children will now be re-styled the Office of the Minister for Youth and Children, and responsibility for youth affairs in the Department of Education and Science and for the young persons' facilities and services fund in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will be integrated into the office. I intend this as a clear signal that a focus on young people and their needs will be a particular priority for the Government.

Co-ordinating policy and implementation across departmental boundaries is one of the great challenges of modern government. Pending any realignment of functions between Departments which may be appropriate, I intend to review the operation of Cabinet committees and their supporting cross-departmental teams of officials, and to assign functions to Ministers of State in ways that stress the importance of links across organisational boundaries and the pursuit of a more integrated approach to policy development.

While our economic growth path has been the envy of many, now is the time to broaden our definition of the success of the nation. Economic growth must progress two pillars of sustainable development: society and the environment. The world faces serious challenges to redress the human impact on the environment, none greater than in the area of climate change. Scientific evidence tells us to act now or face serious consequences. As a father I feel an obligation to make Ireland a better environment for my children. As Taoiseach I must provide leadership so we deliver on this for all of our children and future generations.

For a small country, Ireland has always punched above its weight in the international community; we must now be proactive in supporting and building upon the leadership shown by the European Union in policy measures to address the threat of climate change. Nobody should underestimate the enormity of the specific challenge faced by Ireland in meeting its post-Kyoto commitments. It will require a major alteration in the way we approach business at all levels of Government and across the economy and society. I am fully committed to leading this change.

I will introduce a comprehensive process of integration of policies across all Departments to address the major environmental challenges faced by Ireland in the wider world. Our policies must be examined from the perspective of environmental impact and the emphasis of the policy agenda needs to enhance the quality of life of our people and promote the pillars of sustainable development.

We must no longer see the environment as something that limits our development. Rather, the environment and economy are interdependent — progress in one area cannot be sustained without securing the other. The market economy need not be the enemy of the environment. Our commitment must be to use the market to mobilise people to think and behave in a way that puts the best interests of society as a whole ahead of their own private interests. This Government will explore a range of market-based policy instruments to effect this change while securing the economy.

While the Government can lead change in respect of the environment, the scale of the challenges we face requires a major response by all our people. This Government will be actively committed to providing the context within which people themselves can effect the change necessary to improve our environment and ensure a high quality of life for our future generations.

It is the youth of this nation who will determine that our peaceful island remains a safe and secure place for all our people to live. It is our youth who will determine how 21st century Ireland meets the challenges of an increasingly globalised economy. It is our young people who will help to shape the environmental destiny of our island, this Continent and the wider world.

It is customary at this time to announce the intention to nominate for appointment by the Government a number of Ministers of State. I take pleasure, therefore, in informing the House of the nomination of Deputy Pat Carey as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip. He will also be Minister of State at the Department of Defence. I also intend to nominate for appointment by the Government Deputy Barry Andrews as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, with responsibility for children and youth affairs. I will also nominate Deputy Trevor Sargent as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with special responsibility for food and horticulture. I nominate Deputy Dick Roche as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, with responsibility for European affairs. The Minister of State, Deputy Roche, has a tremendous record of work in furthering Ireland's engagement with the European Union. His enthusiasm and commitment will continue to serve us well in the immediate and vital task of promoting a "Yes" vote in the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon reform treaty.

I would not bet on it.

To serve in Government is a great and unique honour and privilege that carries a great responsibility. I congratulate all of the new Cabinet appointees, in particular Deputies Brendan Smith and Batt O'Keeffe. I also congratulate Deputies Barry Andrews and Pat Carey on their appointments as Ministers of State. Deputy Carey stopped me on many occasions in the corridor and asked whether I thought he would ever have a chance. His hour has come.

This is a great day for everyone who has been newly appointed to the Cabinet or moved in a reshuffle and also for their families and constituents. I fully appreciate their enthusiasm and excitement and the daunting challenge faced by those who walk across the corridor to the office at the far end. This will be a day to remember and celebrate.

This is also a day of loneliness for those who leave the Cabinet. I sympathise with Deputy Tom Kitt, who will no longer be in the Whip's office, and I add my voice to those who have expressed the hope that Deputy Séamus Brennan will successfully meet his personal difficulties and go on to play a full part as a political figure and a citizen.

I congratulate the new Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, on her appointment; to be Tánaiste is a wonderful opportunity and honour. Commissioner Mandelson has already been on the telephone saying he is somewhat intrigued that she has been moved. He will now be faced with the daunting prospect of Deputy Brendan Smith as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before the World Trade Organisation talks. I recall Deputy Rabbitte saying the new Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is inclined to pour treacle on the works. He will need a lot of treacle to deal with the economic situation he now faces. I have had my rows with the incoming Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, and I do not believe that the proportion of social welfare recipients in her constituency is that high.

It will be now.

She will probably have to deal with policy issues anyway.

As Leader of the Opposition, it is a privilege to congratulate all of the new appointees and wish them the best of luck. However, it is also my duty to point to the fact that the appointees come into this House with new seals of office from the President at a time when the Fianna Fáil slogan "a lot done, a lot more to do" has become a sick reminder of riches squandered and hopes dashed. Perhaps they can tell the 100,000 families, including many young couples, who now face negative equity on houses worth far less than they recently paid that a lot has been done. Two years ago, young couples could not buy houses because of stamp duty. The then Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen took action but it was too late for it to be useful. Right now, stamp duty is not the issue. For many house purchasers the issue is a constant nagging dread that they will not be able to meet the repayments on the dream house that in some cases has turned into a nightmare.

Fianna Fáil is always quick to seek credit for economic success and economic failure is always somebody else's fault. It deflects blame at all costs and at every opportunity and never minds the inconvenient truths. Never mind that international factors did not force the then Minister, Deputy Cowen, to talk up the housing market in 2005 and 2006, when the advice he was getting from international experts was that Irish house prices were massively over-valued. International factors did not force the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, in his four budgets as Minister for Finance, to massively ramp up day-to-day public spending by two and half times the underlying growth rate of the economy. International factors have had nothing to do with the fact that since 2001 we have been steadily losing the share of foreign export markets we built up during the 1990s. International factors cannot explain why Ireland has had the biggest increase in unemployment of any EU country in the past year, when unemployment fell in 24 of the 27 EU member states. International factors are not responsible for Ireland having the highest cost of living increases in the eurozone since 2001. By assigning blame for our economic woes on foreign factors alone, the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, and his new Government encourage a dangerously complacent attitude, suggesting if we stay the course and wait for the storm to pass we will be all right on the day.

I have promised the new Taoiseach the wholehearted support of Fine Gael for innovation, initiative and empathy with the Irish people, and I will deliver that support where appropriate. However, I cannot and will not allow the good feelings on the Government benches to distract from reality. The reality is that, out of the best times any Irish Government was ever handed, Fianna Fáil has created catastrophe and chaos. Under the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen's, stewardship as Minister for Finance, the Government mismanaged the public finances and the housing sector. The Government did nothing about economic and public sector reform. We know this because just two weeks ago in this House the then Tánaiste, Deputy Cowen, described my raising of the tragic case of a hospitalised woman as simplistic and facile. The implication of this is inescapable; he has to deal with more complex and difficult issues. This contradicts his speech this evening

However, up to now, he has not dealt with more complex and difficult issues. He talks impressively about public service reform but we need look no further than the monolith that has been created in the Health Service Executive, HSE. It is now entirely dysfunctional and is being consistently talked up by the Minister for Health and Children.

As pointed out by Deputy Leo Varadkar, the country is awash with quangos, so the citizen gets bounced from one to another to a third, wasting time and money. Deputy Brian Cowen, as Minister for Finance, did not cut back on any of this. He had a decade to do it in the very best of times. For many, however, they are becoming the worst of times.

They say the Taoiseach is a clever man, which is undoubtedly true. He has no problem spending money. Some €15 million is being spent on a vanity public information campaign for the Green Party. Up to €20 million is being spent on a campaign to advertise Transport 21. Does any Member on that side of the House understand how these public relations activities nauseate people? These advertisements on national television and billboards are for programmes people expect to be delivered by a competent and decisive Government. This €35 million is wasted on public relations promotional programmes that will not insulate one single house, deliver one single school, put one bus on the road or keep one extra hospital bed open. Some €35 million is wasted on billboard campaigns when people know the cost of living increases every day. They know the cost of making-do when schools are turned into charitable organisations and where communities are expected to fork out to keep theirs going. I hope the incoming Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, will change this for the good of the parents and the children of the nation.

Gaelscoil Ballincollig.

It is time to update Deputy Brian Cowen's famous one-liner. When in doubt, pay it out — as long as the money makes it look like the Government is actually doing something. Never mind the reality. Enjoy the ad. campaign for €35 million.

Deputy Brian Cowen knows well 4,000 children in the Dublin area are waiting on speech and language therapy. The State has gone through the process of training speech and language therapists, yet there are no jobs for many of them who have graduated. Deputy Brian Cowen is aware that for children with Down's syndrome, to take one example, speech and language therapy must happen early in their lives or their potential is forever damaged and diminished.

The programme for Government promises that any child under five years waiting more than three months for occupational or speech and language therapy will access these services automatically through the National Treatment Purchase Fund. It is not happening. It is a disgrace that adds to the anxieties of their parents. Radical change in Government should be about addressing this.

If spending €35 million on vanity advertising were in a novel, no one would believe it. Neither would anyone believe that a Minister for Education and Science would spend millions of euro on legal fees to deny to children education which should be their right.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

No one would believe that a Minister for Education and Science would drive loving parents to despair, that she would fund the lawyers to pummel good people to the verge of bankruptcy — and beyond in some cases- to prove a point.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

That is not true. Deputy Enda Kenny should check his facts.

No one would believe an entire Cabinet could become so disconnected from the people it is supposed to serve.

Up to 200,000 people may have died in a cyclone in Burma this week. Its ferocity may be as a result of global warming. Global warming or climate change, however, is not new. We have known about it since Fianna Fáil came back into power in 1997. The Government eventually took notice of it, producing a climate change strategy in 2000. It was, however, all bells and whistles with not one single Kyoto target met so far. The opposite is the case. Failure to implement that strategy by successive Fianna Fáil-led Governments means Ireland now has a mountain to climb, rather than just the hill that was ahead of us a decade ago. I am sure the incoming Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, will understand that soon.

During the best of times, Fianna Fáil delayed the upgrading of housing energy efficiency standards. More than 650,000 new houses were built using antiquated technology. Those new houses leak heat, costing their owners more in energy than they should. The 2000 climate change strategy was all about promises and publicity. It was just the beginning of the Government's environmental policy failures.

Fianna Fáil failed to open up public transport services to competition and delayed reforms to VRT and motor taxation for eight years, resulting in 2 million new vehicles on the road making our greenhouse gas emission levels the highest in Europe. This should be unacceptable to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley.

The Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Deputy Frank Fahey, announced recently on radio that it takes 50 minutes to travel by bus from Mountjoy Square to St. Stephen's Green. He now intends to close down the whole of Dublin city centre to traffic without discussing it at the relevant committee.

The Taoiseach is a clever man. I assume he and the incoming Minister for Finance, will have no problem finding taxpayers' money to buy their way out of Ireland's Kyoto's targets and whatever emerges from the Bali talks. It is a case of the Taoiseach's problems but our money.

I again congratulate Deputy Brian Cowen on his appointment as Taoiseach and wish him well in the job. However, we must get real. His record in the ministries held to date does not indicate a sense of endeavour, drive or the sense for change of which he spoke earlier. There is no trace of achievement when he was in the Departments of Labour or of Transport, Energy and Communications. Neither is there a trace of achievement when he was Minister for Health and Children. A former master of the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street described the Taoiseach as hopeless when he was in the Department of Health and Children. It was all just talk, promises and publicity. Ten years ago, he told The Irish Times he was driving fundamental restructuring in health services. Ten years later, it still has not happened. Deputy Brian Cowen moved on before his failures could be nailed to him in that Department.

Deputy Mary Harney should not be reappointed Minister for Health and Children. She has lost the confidence of the people. She also seems to have lost the drive and energy that made her a formidable politician in the House and on the national stage for many years. I agree with her argument for networks but how can one have them when hospitals services are stripped away? A woman recently wrote to me asking what is the policy for those with long-term, terminal and non-glamour illnesses, the aged, those with a mental illness or those suffering from neurological conditions. She asked if it were policy that they should be considered no-hopers and — like alcoholics, the homeless, drug addicts — they are nothing but an underclass to be locked away. That is why a change in the Minister for Health and Children is needed.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

We should be also concerned with the current round of pay talks. These talks could make or break the economy for the next ten years. The first Cabinet meeting in Áras an Uachtaráin is always short and convivial. Tonight's meeting is also a great time for the Taoiseach to hit his Ministers for six and reject the proposed ministerial pay awards. All Cabinet members will agree because they love their old ministries and want to get back to the bonfires in their constituencies.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

It provides the new Taoiseach with the opportunity to show real leadership. If he were to do it later this evening, it would stand to him in the times ahead.

The economic challenge cannot be under estimated. Taxes will be at least €10 billion short of target by 2012, making the programme for Government redundant. It will be just "a tattered rag upon a stick". The Taoiseach must give the programme its P45 and come back to the House with a realistic and achievable programme.

I hope Deputy Brian Cowen spent the past few weeks hammering out a new programme for Government, to take account of the tragically changed circumstances in which the nation finds itself. If he does that in the areas where it is in the national interest, we will offer support. If he does not and his Ministers fall, we will pursue them in the House relentlessly and expose their political inadequacies.

I look forward to the changed environment of politics. I assume there will be more direct answers and a return to conventional politics, with the legal implications of the other issue out of the way in so far as the primacy of the House is concerned. I look forward to constructive political debate so that we can enthuse and inspire our young people and show them that there is a value to politics, that we mean what we say and that what we do is in the interests of the country's future.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

I congratulate the Members nominated for appointment by the President to the Government. In particular, I congratulate the new Ministers, for whom it is a great day. I congratulate my constituency colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, who has retained a position in the Cabinet, and Deputy Barry Andrews, who will be appointed. I join in the tributes paid to the former Minister, Deputy Brennan, and the former Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, Galway men who represented a neighbouring constituency in south Dublin.

However, this is not a new Government. It is a recycled Fianna Fáil Government that has been in power for 11 years. The captain's armband has been passed to a new Taoiseach and there have been a few substitutions and some position switches, but this is essentially the same team. In its composition, it is more of a Fianna Fáil Government than has been the case for a long time. It is the closest we have been to a single party Fianna Fáil Government since Charles Haughey was defeated in a general election in 1981. It is an exaggeration to call it a coalition.

It saddens me to see what has happened to the Green Party, as I identify with its politics and philosophy, and the extent to which its Members sacrificed what they stand for to obtain office. When the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, seconded and poured praise on the newly nominated Taoiseach, all that came to mind was Stockholm syndrome, a psychological response sometimes seen when an abducted hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker regardless of the danger or risk in which the former has been placed.

The relationship between Democratic Left and the Labour Party was the same.

It is a condition in which small acts of kindness by the captor are magnified by the one who has been captivated. An untold story of the formation of the Government is that of the shameful collaboration by the Green Party on the day the Government was formed in putting in order the paperwork for a motorway through Tara.

That is a blatant lie.

The Minister and his people telephoned the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government repeatedly.

On a point of order——

The Minister should withdraw his remark.

I will chair this debate.

The Minister could not wait, he was in so much contact with the——

I cannot allow the——

I will correct the comment. Deputy Gilmore's statement was an untruth.

The Minister should withdraw the comment.

He is winding back.

(Interruptions).

Will the Minister withdraw the word "lie"?

It was an untruth. The Deputy should substantiate his assertions.

Did they hurt the Minister?

Is the Minister withdrawing the comment?

To clarify, is the Minister withdrawing the word "lie"?

Absolutely. It was an untruth.

I can understand why the Green Party did not manage to stop US military aeroplanes landing in Shannon Airport, but I cannot understand why it did not get an inspection regime.

There is some irony in the fact that, while the former Minister, Mr. Michael McDowell, a free marketeer, managed to keep the incinerator out of Ringsend, it will now be built on a Green Party Minister's watch.

The Labour Party voted for it.

Deputy Gilmore without interruption.

Methinks the Minister doth protest too much.

(Interruptions).

What is new about this Government is not its composition, but the circumstances in which this phase of single party Fianna Fáil rule is taking office. When the Labour Party left office in 1997, the economy was growing at a rate of 10%. Now it is growing at less than 2%, the lowest rate in 20 years. In 1997, jobs were being created at a rate of 1,000 per week. To date this year, jobs are being lost at a rate of 1,600 per week. When we left office in 1997, inflation was at 1.5%, but it is currently 5%. There was confidence and optimism among the people when the Government took office, but the latest ESRI consumer confidence index is at its lowest level since the index was invented. The recycled Government has led the country from boom to gloom in an 11-year period. The new Taoiseach would have us believe that this is due to international conditions. While I accept that the global economy, particularly the situation in the United States, has an effect, the new economic circumstances in which we find ourselves are due in no small measure to the poor domestic management of the economy by the man elected Taoiseach by the Dáil a few hours ago.

For the past 11 years, Fianna Fáil and its allies in the Government have ridden the crest of an economic wave. Ministers have claimed political credit for every economic achievement of enterprising businesses and a productive workforce. Deputy Bertie Ahern, who led the Government for 11 years, spent his time going around the country, looking into people's eyes and, as the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, stated last week, asking them "how is the hard-working man?". I will tell the House how the hard-working man and woman are. They pay an additional €400 per month for the mortgage they took out to buy their home a few years ago.

In many cases and if they can find a buyer, that property is worth €100,000 less than what they paid. If the home is an apartment or in a mixed development, they may pay €2,000 per year in rip-off charges to a developer under the masquerade of a management company because the Government has repeatedly refused to accept this side's calls for the regulation of property management companies. If the home is in some of the housing estates sprawling around our cities, it may have been left unfinished by a builder who, like many others, has fled.

The hard-working man and woman may live 20 miles or 30 miles from work, for which reason they will need to pay much travel money. After paying petrol costs of €1.30 per litre, they may need to pay €25 or €30 in tolls on the M50 or this city's other approach roads. As they sit in the worst traffic congestion in Europe, they have plenty of time to reflect on and worry about the security of their jobs or the future of their businesses. On their car radios, they listen to stories such as those we heard last week of the good high-level jobs being lost at Dell in Loughlinstown in my constituency at what is supposed to be the top end of the information economy. That causes them worry about whether they will have employment or how well their business will succeed in the future. No doubt the newly elected Taoiseach will tell us that he has cut their taxes. He cut the top rate but we should look at all the additional taxes and charges that have been heaped on the hardworking men and women of this country. In 1997, when Fianna Fáil returned to power, waste collection was a public service. Today it is commercialised and, in most parts of the country, run by private businesses. Families are now paying between €300 and €500 per year simply to have their bins collected.

The hardworking man and the hardworking woman are paying nearly €2,000 per year after tax for plan B health insurance to cover themselves and their two children. If they bring their sick child to the accident and emergency unit, they will pay €66 for hospital admission, a charge that has more than doubled since 2002. If they have to purchase medicine for the child, the limit on the drugs refund scheme has increased from €53 to €90. When their children begin their education, they must pay or collect money for the school's running costs because the promise made by this Government at the last election to double capitation fees in primary schools has not been delivered. If they have an elderly parent, they must wonder where they will get the money to pay for nursing home charges and care, again because the legislation providing for a new regime on nursing charges, which we were promised on numerous occasions, has not been delivered. It does not end there. Supermarket prices have increased significantly on last year's figures. The price of a loaf of bread is 20% higher than this time last year, a litre of milk has increased by 30% and a kilo of flour is 40% more expensive.

How, then, are the hardworking man and the hardworking woman? They are under pressure from the increased cost of living and they are worried about their future employment and incomes. It will be cold comfort to families who are coming under financial pressure to suggest this is the fault of the Government and that they should wait three and a half years until the next general election before passing their verdict. I agree with Deputy Kenny that one of the actions the Government can take is to forego the huge salary increases it decided to pay Ministers earlier this year. The €38,000 increase for the Taoiseach is more than the incomes of 1.5 million taxpayers.

I was struck by one of the comments made by the Taoiseach in proposing this Government. He stated: "Nowhere is the need for a new approach more acute than in the health service." If that is the case, he has made a bad start because nowhere should he have exercised his authority as Taoiseach to effect a change of ministerial responsibility more than in respect of the Department of Health and Children.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

There are plenty of jobs in Government which the very able Minister for Health and Children could do. What was clear from last year's general election, however, was the absence of a public mandate for the strategy and approach to the health services being taken by this Minister.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

A clear majority of the people, including many of those who voted for candidates who are now in Government, rejected the approach to health services being taken by the Minister, Deputy Harney. If the Taoiseach really wanted a new approach in health, that is a ministerial change he could and should have made. He has conveyed the impression of being a tough guy at the helm but he was not very tough on this. She beat him. She is in the Department of Health and Children not because he believes she is the best person to do the job but because she has politically insisted that is where she is staying. The Taoiseach will have to take direct responsibility for that decision because all the controversies that have arisen in the health services in the past year are slaps in the face for Rebecca O'Malley, the late Suzie Long and all the people who looked to him to make a real change in health. He has made the decision to leave the Department in the hands of a Minister who does not see health as a community service but as a business opportunity.

The Labour Party will provide strong opposition to his Government. We will remind him daily of the problems people face in this country and we will raise issues of poverty and the nearly 200,000 children who are living in poverty. We will insist that however he or the Minister for Finance wields the knife as the economic situation tightens, it will not affect those who are least able to bear it, namely, those who are homeless and poor and, in many cases, lack the lobbies of better-off people.

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an méid a dúirt an Taoiseach nua maidir leis an Ghaeilge. Tá súil agam go mbeidh toradh praiticiúil ar sin, mar shampla, le tacaíocht iomlán don tumoideachas, d'fhorbairt eacnamaíochta na Gaeltachta, do Bhille Teanga sna Sé Chontae agus do mhéadú ar úsáid na Gaeilge anseo san Oireachtas.

The departure of the former Taoiseach has been one of the longest goodbyes in political history. I do not begrudge him his moment of history in Washington or his day in the sun beside the River Boyne, but Fianna Fáil has been benefiting from a virtual political truce called by Fine Gael and Labour since he announced his resignation. I welcome the end of that unreal, almost surreal period. Along with the Progressive Democrats and the Green Party, these parties are in the "Yes" camp on the Lisbon treaty debate. They are clearly not representing the large swathes of their own support base who oppose the ratification of Lisbon. A cosy media consensus follows suit.

Fianna Fáil has been riding high as health cuts, education shortfalls, job losses and the overall economic slump were swept from the headlines. The politics of personality has reigned supreme. The new Taoiseach and Ministers may bask in the media spotlight today but tomorrow and the next weeks and months will present a very different reality. They will face massive challenges.

The new Taoiseach will take responsibility for the continued consolidation of the peace process and the developing all-Ireland political process. He brings with him his experience as Minister for Foreign Affairs. I believe his commitment is sincere. Like the former Taoiseach, the incoming Taoiseach has played his part. Tremendous progress has been made but it must be remembered that this is a process and that momentum must be maintained.

Yesterday was a good day and as an Irish republican I would see what happened at the site of the Battle of the Boyne not as commemorating two foreign kings who vied for the supremacy of Ireland and Britain at the cost of much Irish blood but as the celebration of new relationships among all the people who share this island.

The agreements of Good Friday in 1998 and St. Andrews in 2006 form the basis of these new relationships and of the successful new political dispensation. The transfer of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast is an essential requirement and it will be a serious setback if there is slippage from the promised date of transfer of powers in this month of May 2008. That is the biggest single challenge facing the new Taoiseach with regard to the all-Ireland political process. I urge him to spare no effort to ensure the delivery of that absolutely vital element of the agreements, on which so much progress has been made and on which rests so much hope for the future.

Sinn Féin seeks constructive consensus based on progressive politics. We seek all-party co-operation to build on the peace process, develop the all-Ireland political dynamic and work in a planned way towards the unification of our island and of all the people who call it home. We look forward to working with the new Taoiseach and his colleagues on that great national project.

The new Taoiseach is also a former health Minister. He preceded Deputy Micheál Martin, who anchored the Government health strategy of 2001, the longest list of broken promises ever to gather dust on a shelf. Deputy Martin was famous for commissioning reports but presided over an unreformed health service with escalating waiting lists. He in turn was succeeded by the present Minister, Deputy Mary Harney. Her term of office as health Minister has been nothing short of disastrous.

She oversaw the creation of the HSE, a body I have already described on the floor of this Chamber as the quango from hell. There is no longer any democratic accountability for health policy and health care delivery. The Minister, Deputy Harney, has pursued a ruthless drive to centralise and privatise our health services. On top of this are the current HSE cutbacks which are attacking already overstretched and underresourced services and making patients suffer.

I deplore the proposal to retain Deputy Harney as health Minister, not because I bear ill-will towards her personally — I do not — but because her retention in that post signals a continuation of the disastrous policies fronted by this Minister.

I say "fronted" deliberately because these are Fianna Fáil policies and every Deputy and Senator of that party bears collective responsibility for them. They cannot hide behind the Minister, Deputy Harney, nor can she in turn hide behind the HSE.

I have urged the new Taoiseach to change direction and I again urge him to do so even though he wishes to retain Deputy Harney in the health portfolio. I strongly contend that no party calling itself republican can continue with current health policies which are deepening the divide in our two-tier system.

I have a proposal for the Taoiseach. Sinn Féin would like to be part of an all-party agreement on health. The foundation of that agreement would be the ending of health care apartheid and the creation of a single-tier service with equal access for all based on need alone. Centralisation and privatisation should end, with services supported and developed at our local hospitals. We need a coalition for equality and excellence in our health services, a coalition that will build up our public health system and harness the commitment and dedication of health services workers. It would be an alliance of those workers along with communities and patients' groups and everyone in our society concerned with building better and fairer health services.

The new Taoiseach comes into office from the Department of Finance at a time of economic downturn. Unemployment rates continue to increase. Nothing has been done to protect or retrain workers in vulnerable sectors. Tax revenue is well below projections, with €927 million or 6.5% less being collected in tax revenue during the first four months of 2008 than in 2007.

Under the now Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, and his predecessors the Exchequer became ever more dependent on revenue from construction and domestic consumption. We are paying the price for this now as revenue from these sectors declines.

The Government has allowed the economy to become unsustainable as economic growth over recent years was driven by domestic consumption rather than exports or trade. Nothing was done to tackle this. This dependence in economic growth on domestic consumption left the economy particularly vulnerable, and both then Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, and Deputy Micheál Martin at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, failed to take any action in response to the downturn in the economy.

I take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the new Tánaiste, who also takes on the portfolio of Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I wish Deputy Mary Coughlan success in her new responsibilities.

The hands-off approach to economic management adopted to date should be brought to an end by the new Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan. There should be action to tackle those factors undermining competitiveness, such as deficiencies in transport and communications infrastructure. There must be intervention to provide training and upskilling to vulnerable workers and those recently made unemployed. Tax and PRSI cuts proposed in the programme for Government are not viable and should not go ahead, and revenue should be retained to provide better public services.

The new Taoiseach faces a major challenge in attempting to negotiate a successor to the Towards 2016 agreement. He should ignore the hypocritical calls for pay restraint from top management in the private sector, which has awarded itself massive pay rises while ordinary workers struggle to keep up with the cost of living. Any new agreement must also guarantee the right to union recognition.

We urge the immediate introduction of legislation on agency workers based on the principle of equal rights. This issue is damaging our economy by allowing a race to the bottom in terms of workers' rights and wages. Agency workers are being used to casualise the labour market and the claims of employers' bodies that agency workers allow us to be more competitive are blown out of the water by the fact that every country ranking more competitive than us in Europe already has protective legislation for agency workers. The trade union movement has called this the potential breaking point of the talks on social partnership.

The new Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Hanafin, as well as raising welfare payments to a decent standard, should review the entire system of social welfare to make it customer accessible and more efficient, as well as geared towards removing barriers to work. Specifically she should step back from the plan to push single parents into the workplace while there are still no adequate child care facilities available to them. Two weeks paid paternity leave should be introduced and maternity benefit payment should be raised to an acceptable living standard.

That same Minister, in her previous portfolio, has in no small way contributed to the range of major problems now plain to see in the education system. It gives me no pleasure to say that. The problems include the state of existing school buildings and the shortage of accommodation, her attack on early immersion Irish language education, the underfunding of primary schools, insufficient third level grants and school secretaries being paid disparate rates of pay and in some cases under the minimum wage. Of course, we have the scandal of families of children with autism and other special needs being denied the services they so desperately require. The new Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, must make a fresh start.

The new Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, also faces significant challenges. Successive Fianna Fáil-led Governments refused to properly resource the six-year national drugs strategy which concludes this year. The strategy has been starved of funding. In the meantime, the heroin epidemic has spread beyond the capital and cocaine is in use in every town on the island. Drug-related and gangland crime have flourished as a direct result of Government inaction. Under budget 2008, funding allocated to the drugs initiative-young people's facilities and services fund, which includes the national drugs strategy, is to be €64 million. Contrast this figure with that allocated to the horse and greyhound racing fund, €76.6 million, and it is clear where the Government's priorities lie.

The HSE has already made cuts in the area of drug treatment and has reneged on promises to deliver. The fight against drugs must receive the priority and resources required. The full cost of the drugs crisis ranges from overdoses and road deaths, hospital stays, addiction treatments, social welfare payments and absenteeism from work to gangland murder and intimidation. Funding to front-line services must be sufficient and secure. Pilot projects should be mainstreamed without delay.

Having kept the good wine until last, I wish to avail of this opportunity to extend my personal congratulations and good wishes to the new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith. The Minister must take a strong line in respect of the WTO negotiations and ensure that the EU Commission does not sacrifice the interests of Irish agriculture in pursuit of a deal favourable to larger member states. The current proposals associated with Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson — in reality they are the Commission's proposals — represent a betrayal of the commitment given to farmers in 2003 when they agreed to the reform of CAP and, in particular, to the introduction of the decoupled single farm payment. The Minister must ensure that this commitment is not reneged upon and that farmers are not forced down a road which could lead to the decimation of the sector, with all the implications this would have for food production, employment and the fabric of rural Ireland.

Sinn Féin represents a different voice in this House. We will not be part of any cosy consensus. We have presented our analysis and our position consistently throughout our years of representation in this Chamber. We will not, therefore, be supporting this Cabinet. We will continue to offer constructive opposition, representing as honestly and as comprehensively as possible all who have elected us and also the many people who have been abandoned by those in whom they previously placed their trust.

Cuireann sé áthas orm go bhfuil an Teachta Brian Cowen tofa mar Thaoiseach. Ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an dTaoiseach, a chlann agus muintir Uíbh Fháilí ar an ócáid stairiúil seo.

Those of us in the Green Party got to know the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, as a tough-as-old-boots negotiator when we hammered out a programme for Government last May and June. It is not easy make a deal with him. It took 12 days to do so and at times it was touch and go. Thus far, however, we have found the tough dealer to be a straight dealer who honours hard-won agreements. The Green Party has kept its word in government. We will continue to honour our commitments and we look forward to proceeding with our work. Painful though it is for Deputies Gilmore and Kenny and others in opposition to hear, it is far more satisfactory to be on this side of the House and in a position to implement one's party's policies. Instead of crafting good speeches and juicy media titbits, we are working well in government. The Green Party worked well with Deputy Bertie Ahern and I am confident we can do the same with the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen.

Those on all sides attested earlier to the new Taoiseach's considerable ability and vast political experience. Cé gur fear óg é, tá mórchuid taithí aige mar pholaiteoir. Togadh é mar Theachta Dála don chéad uair i 1984. Chaith sé breis is deich mbliana mar Aire, sular chaith sé ceithre bhliain mar Aire Airgeadais. Is duine tuisceanach, oilte é, atá lán-dáiríre faoin pholaitíocht. Creidim go bhfuil sé réidh chun a sheacht ndícheall a dhéanamh ar son na tíre.

In addition to his vast experience, Deputy Cowen comes to the office of Taoiseach with impeccable political credentials. As already stated, this is a proud day for the people of Laois-Offaly and the midlands in general as they see one of their own take the most responsible political office in the land. As deputy leader of the Green Party — and also as a Deputy who represents a rural constituency, Carlow-Kilkenny, which is situated not far from the Taoiseach's native Offaly — I fully appreciate the importance of Deputy Cowen's election for his neighbours, the wider community and the surrounding region.

Today is a time for a certain pageantry and congratulations as we bid a final farewell to Deputy Bertie Ahern and offer a welcome to the new Taoiseach. I also wish to offer my congratulations to those newly appointed as Ministers.

In one way, Deputy Cowen comes to the office of Taoiseach at a blessed time. There is now every reason to hope that the people of Northern Ireland have entered a new era of peace and prosperity. As Ian Paisley stated yesterday, in his own inimitable way, there can be no turning back to the bad old days of violence. The problems of Northern Ireland have been a huge feature of the work of this House and of successive Governments for four decades. We will continue to discuss and focus on the North. Henceforth, however, we will concentrate on exciting economic and social developments as cross-Border co-operation deepens.

Deputy Cowen's election as Taoiseach also comes at a very challenging time economically for Ireland, particularly as things tighten in the global economy. This is a signal that we need to address the issues we face with even more urgency and vigour. As the price of the barrel of oil tops $120 and supplies of other fossil fuels are both outrageously expensive and frighteningly fickle, we need to realise that we must reduce our dependence on imported energy. We know we must reduce our wastage of scarce and expensive energy resources.

Earlier today, I read without great surprise that Irish people are spending far more to light and heat their homes and to cook meals than are their counterparts in other EU countries with far colder climates. Apart from anything else, it is clear we are facing massive rises in our energy bills which, unless we change our ways, we will increasingly struggle to meet.

Questions of energy security dovetail with the key environmental challenge we face, namely, addressing the effects of climate change. It is now the shared view of thousands of scientists across the globe that we are living on borrowed time. The Green Party is in government because Deputy Bertie Ahern recognised this stark reality. We are remaining in government because the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, takes the same view. Climate change threatens our very existence. Irish aid organisations such as Trócaire and Concern have indicated their deep fears regarding the devastation that has already been wrought upon the world's poorest and most vulnerable people. We have just one chance to tackle climate change and Ireland must play its part with the other developed nations of the world.

Whatever the Opposition's response, I am confident the parties in government will continue to work together in a spirit of trust, co-operation and compromise. My colleagues in government have found the Taoiseach to be a man of his word — once the deal is done he honours it. We found this to be the case when he held the pivotal job of Minister for Finance. In that position, he provided us with additional resources to allow us to pursue our work.

Members of the Green Party are the first to recognise that in the coming years we face a period where resources will be less widely available. We know that in more straitened times we must be more rigorous in identifying projects to be funded. In addition, we must be even more vigilant with regard to obtaining value for taxpayers' money. We also know that we must be more cognisant than ever of the needs of business in order to protect existing jobs and promote employment creation. We can best do this by continuing to be part of the coalition Government. The Green Party is ready to continue to play its part in shaping a sustainable future for everyone on this island.

I wish to share time with Deputy Varadkar.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Today is a great one for the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen. It is a proud day for him, for Offaly and for his family. I genuinely wish him well in his endeavours.

The Taoiseach referred to social inclusion. I hope that he was not merely uttering weasel or empty words. If he means what he says, then co-located hospitals should be a thought from the past and not a thing of the future.

They have the potential to cause tremendous social division. A situation will arise where people with influence — those with insurance and wealth — will turn right, to the new, well funded private hospital, while those without influence — those with medical cards, no insurance and chronic illness — will turn left, into a public health service that will continue to be undermined, as has been the case over the past 12 months, by the Minister the Taoiseach has seen fit to reappoint today. I must echo the comments of others in this regard.

An example of how co-located hospitals are manifesting themselves in the most despicable way is the case of St. Ita's and Beaumont hospital. The co-located hospital at Beaumont will occupy the site for which planning permission was awarded for a new psychiatric unit in 2004. It was put out to tender in 2005 but the site will be occupied by a private hospital while 23 men are housed in one ward and 23 women in another, with 3 ft between their beds and access to just a small bank of three toilets, one shower and one bathroom. They are to be left in this temporary facility that was built 40 years ago. To the back of the queue with them, while private enterprise moves on ahead. I hope the Taoiseach will be as good as his word and pursue a policy in health and education, as elsewhere, that means social inclusion.

The Minister, Deputy Harney, made an extraordinary statement in the House earlier. She obviously did not hear what Dr. Peter Boylan had to say. With regard to her comments on longevity having improved here, there are many social as well as medical factors which influence this. What she had to say should be told to the relatives of Suzy Long. What good is it to those like Beverly Seville Doyle, who died in a toilet in the Mater Hospital after waiting 19 hours in accident and emergency? What good is it to 76-year old Peg McEntee, who suffers from Alzheimer's and who asked to be let die in the Mater Hospital, having waited so long for a bed? Thankfully, she is at home and looking much better. The list continues of the many who suffered as a consequence of this Minister's inaction and inability to take action when forewarned, as in the case of the 97 women in Portlaoise, in the Taoiseach's constituency, who found out about their recall on the news.

What has she put forward with regard to change, innovation and reform? Her fair deal seems to have run into the ground. It was promised since before Christmas but there is still no sign of it — there are legal issues, we are told. A consultant contract which we were told with great fanfare was in place several weeks ago is still awaited. The Psychiatric Nurses Association is taking industrial action and causing problems in the health service, particularly the psychiatric health service where its members work. The IMPACT trade union is threatening industrial action. The list goes on.

This could have been the Taoiseach's opportunity to make his mark on the health service, so he would not be remembered only as the man who referred to it as "Angola" after two years as Minister — hardly a legacy of which one would be proud. This could have been his opportunity to institute radical reform in the HSE, which we now know is a bloated and dysfunctional bureaucracy, as highlighted in report after report. We know why this happened, namely, because the Government on its formation in 2002 would not bite the bullet of redundancies and instead merged 11 companies.

The list goes on in regard to cutbacks and issues around the budget sought by the HSE, which has been left almost €500 million short with €14.1 billion instead of €14.7 billion, with €200 million for extra work. It is clear there has been a long list of cutbacks throughout the country. Blanchardstown hospital is closing surgical and medical wards for a month. Galway City Hospital, the centre of excellence for the west and north west, will close for the month of August, the busiest month of the tourist season despite Galway being the capital of tourism in Ireland.

I had hoped to address many other issues and I had hoped to finish on a positive note. However, it is very difficult to be positive when we will have in pole position the same Minister who has presided over this disaster — it has been a disaster, as others have said. What chance is there of change when there remains in position a Minister who repeatedly ignores warning letters from consultants and other concerned people about problems that are pending, and who continues to strip out services before the services that are supposed to replace them are built, thus endangering patients, often with fatal consequences? I wish the Taoiseach well but I regret this missed opportunity to start anew in the health service. His failure to replace the Minister for Health and Children does not augur well for health care.

As another Member of the House has pointed out, I have been only a wet week in politics. However, during my 11 months as a Member of this House, I have seen many changes: the resignation of four party leaders; the election of four new party leaders to replace them; the resignation of a Taoiseach; and today, the election of a new one.

Being elected Taoiseach is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on an Irish politician. On a personal level, I extend my congratulations to Deputy Brian Cowen on his election as Taoiseach. I also extend my congratulations to the Cabinet on their appointment, in particular to the new Tánaiste, who I look forward to tangoing with over the next few months, to the Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, who has decided to leave the country rather than deal with unemployment and business closures, and also to my constituency colleague, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who I am sure will ensure there are no cutbacks in Dublin West, as, otherwise, he will feel the consequences.

However, I cannot help but wish that for the country's sake the events of today had been otherwise. We have today a Government the people did not vote for and a Taoiseach the people did not vote for. More than that, we do not have the one thing the country needs, namely, a Government made up of Ministers who understand and fathom the depth of the difficulties before us, who are committed to delivering change and driving reform and who are led by a Taoiseach with a record of achievement, competency and integrity. We have none of that tonight. The Taoiseach and these Ministers fail the test of competence in three key areas: ethics, the economy and equity.

On the subject of ethics, the Taoiseach is continuity Fianna Fáil. While I do not believe him to be unethical, I know him to be a politician who has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to low standards in public office throughout his political career. He turned a blind eye when Liam Lawlor was elected to chair the ethics committee of this House. He sat next to Ray Burke in Cabinet. He defended loyally, without question, his predecessor's assertions in this House. His first act as leader of his party was to readmit to its ranks a Deputy who made a career of encouraging people to evade their taxes. Ireland does not need a Taoiseach or Ministers who value loyalty ahead of honesty or integrity. Ireland needs a Government that understands that our fellow citizens are the real victims of corruption and a Government that is committed to rooting it out.

On the economy, the Taoiseach and these Ministers have squandered the boom. They could have used the prosperity of the past ten years to lay the foundations for future growth by investing in infrastructure and education and by preparing Ireland for the inevitable downturn that will come, sooner or later. Instead, as the then Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach increased current account public spending by 10.5% every year at a time when the economy was not growing that fast. He transformed a surplus of €2.3 billion in 2003 into a projected borrowing requirement of €7 billion this year, the worst turnaround in the State's public finances in its history.

Ireland does not need a Government that looks abroad to explain away our economic problems. It needs a Government that accepts responsibility for its failure, not one that is in constant denial. It needs a Government that will bring public services and spending under control and restore competitiveness. Above all, we need a Taoiseach of character and substance to lead it. This is not that Government and, regrettably, this is not that Taoiseach.

It has been said in this House that Deputy Cowen's predecessor was a lucky Taoiseach. He was fortunate to inherit from the Rainbow Government an economy growing at 10%, creating a thousand jobs a week, and the lowest inflation in Europe, as Deputy Gilmore pointed out. The Taoiseach and his Ministers are not so fortunate. He is inheriting an economic downturn that is not entirely but largely of his own making. He will have to take responsibility for the emerging economic crisis and he will have to take tough decisions to put it right. He will have to take responsibility for public services, which he has undermined and damaged through his flawed policies. He will have to grapple with the consequences of the low ethical standards which he has fostered and tolerated. If he does not do this, and I expect he will not, in three or four years he will lead his party to its worst electoral performance since 1927 — he will lead it to an apocalypse.

Over the next four years we, as the Opposition, will hold the Taoiseach to account, expose his failures and highlight the injustices he would conceal. We will ensure that on the next occasion on which this House debates a motion on the election of a Taoiseach or a new Government, this country gets what it really needs — not a change of guard but a change of direction, a change of policy and a change of Government.

I am very proud and privileged to speak as a member of the Government and I thank the Taoiseach for the confidence he has shown in me.

I want to deal with a number of issues raised. I was recently travelling from my constituency clinic when I heard a debate on "Saturday View" on the state of our economy. One contributor said that when capital gains tax was halved in 1997, it was the worst possible development. The contributor claimed it meant we did not have sufficient resources for health, education and welfare. I remember being somewhat amused listening to that because the reality is very different. The very first year after the halving of capital gains tax, the yield increased by 87%.

I listened this evening to the contention that when the current parties came into Government in 1997, they took over a wonderful economy from the Rainbow Government, and that it is the current Government's fault that the economy is now in difficulty. It was alleged that the success was due to our predecessors and that the failure is because of our own efforts. I do not believe in going back over history too much because it is the future that matters, but the reality is that the policies pursued since 1997 — although not exclusively because excellent policies were pursued by our predecessors — have contributed greatly to the economic prosperity this country enjoys today.

Unemployment in Ireland today is a third of what it was 20 years ago. Deputy Ó Caoláin should note that the last thing this country needs is to isolate itself from the action in the European Union. Ireland would be nowhere economically and socially without it, and its place in the world will be diminished if it does not continue to be at its heart.

We are agreed on that.

It is in our vital national interest to support the Lisbon treaty, which is about making the Union more effective socially and economically. It is a question of giving the Union a more powerful influence on global affairs.

I want to talk mainly about health, for obvious reasons. The policies I pursue, as Minister for Health and Children, are the policies of the Government.

Those in Cabinet will know that proposals are brought by a Minister to the Government and are either agreed or rejected thereby. When they are agreed, I, as a member of Cabinet with collective responsibility, support, defend and advance them.

Being a general practitioner, Deputy Reilly will know that the health service in Ireland has improved dramatically over the past decade. I have a list of improvements extending to 20 pages. I will not elaborate on them all but will mention just a few. Today 11,000 older people are being supported clinically at home, whereas there was no such support ten years ago. Some 24,000 people with disabilities are in receipt of day services, while almost none of these services was available in the early 1990s. Eight thousand people with disabilities are in care while virtually nobody was ten or more years ago. Four thousand disabled people are in receipt of respite services annually.

The health service has increased the output from its hospitals. I very much welcome the comments of the Taoiseach on outputs and delivery because we sometimes become obsessed with money and resources. As the OECD has shown, we have 3.9 staff per acute hospital bed, which is double the OECD average. The concentration on inputs rather than outcomes has been one of our great failures as a country in terms of our attitude to public services. Today our hospitals are treating nearly 400,000 more people annually than they did a decade ago.

Today, 200,000 more people have medical cards than they did three years ago and a greater number of people than ever before can go to their general practitioner free of charge than in any time since the 1980s, when unemployment was three times higher.

The percentage of the population has decreased.

The Deputy was listened to in silence. He should have some manners.

The Minister should continue.

Deputy Kenny stated today that Fine Gael leaders always put the country first. As a doctor, Deputy Reilly will know about cancer survival outcomes and that we now have a cancer registry whereby we can measure survival rates. It is a fact that the survival rate of people treated in the north west for breast cancer is 25% lower than that pertaining to those treated in specialist centres in Dublin. I refer to the last period for which we have results. Anyone who puts the country and patients first cannot but act in the face of this convincing fact. I will not talk about multidisciplinary teams or use complicated language; suffice it to say that when women with breast cancer are treated by a number of different experts in a single place, outcomes improve by 20% to 25%. There are 250 medical publications worldwide that back up that fact. Our reorganisation of cancer services is about outcomes and delivery and nothing else.

Last week in Galway I had the pleasure of meeting a group known as Helping Hands, whose members joined together voluntarily some years ago because their friends had a child with cancer. The mother of the child was in Dublin with that child for almost a whole year. The group, with which I was really impressed, helped out the family and developed into an organisation. The mother of the child told me she was devastated when her child was diagnosed five and a half years ago. She said she and her husband were prepared to sell their house and go anywhere they could to obtain treatment for their child. She also said they did a lot of investigation and discovered there was nowhere better than Crumlin hospital. She said she was so happy their child was treated in that hospital.

When I listen to these debates, I get so upset when Members do not support the inevitable concentration of services where experts can be brought together. With regard to children's campuses, we are top of the class worldwide because of the way in which we have organised the services. We all have experience of illness among loved ones and we would bring them almost anywhere if we could get them cured. Therefore, when reorganising services, it is not a question of budgets. Our performance has but one driver and that is patient outcomes and patient safety.

A very encouraging report was published recently on MRSA for the third quarter of last year. While it is but one report, it shows a dramatic improvement in our performance. Some years ago we could never have known how we were doing in this regard because we never measured our progress. Hospitals must now report individually and thus we are able to measure progress, set targets and drive improvements in the interest of patient safety.

I could list many examples of where the health services are improving without any additional resources. Let me cite the example of the winner of one of the health innovation awards last week, St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. Without any additional resources, its neurology unit increased its service level twofold. It was seeing 2,500 patients annually and is now seeing nearly 5,000. The doctors are spending twice the time with patients that they used to spend with them. They are doing so because innovative doctors, nurses and managers got together to change the way they were dealing with their patients. Instead of patients having to wait one year to see a neurologist at the hospital, they now only need to wait a matter of weeks.

These are some examples of what the reform agenda is seeking to achieve. We have amalgamated many organisations into the HSE. If any Member tells me that services were better when we had the health boards with their 273 members, I will challenge his facts.

The HSE is not perfect and considerable efforts are being made by the management of the executive and the board — the board includes very dedicated women and men who have agreed to sit on it and give it their everything — to get the organisation right, establish the lines of accountability and ensure we know who is responsible, when they are responsible and who reports to whom. We have never had a change process of this scale in the public or private sector.

Deputy Gilmore's former party, the Democratic Left, said of Deputy Howlin when he produced his health strategy in May 1994 that he had slavishly given in to the private sector. The words may be different but the same is said of me. If services are put in place, my obligation and that of the Government is to make them available to patients.

Consequently, at present privately funded radiation oncology services in Limerick and Waterford are made available to all patients. Moreover, Deputy Reilly should note there will be access for all patients to any facilities built.

Hear, hear.

They will not be the exclusive remit of any single group of citizens. The well-off always can deal with their own health. The challenge is to provide a health service that delivers speedy responses to those who need them.

Deputy Harney has failed that challenge.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund recently celebrated the treatment of 100,000 people, 90% of whom were treated in private hospitals in Ireland. Some people from Dublin went to the country for treatment and vice versa. I met and continue to meet such patients and what matters above all else to them is getting the appropriate treatment when they need it. They do not care who put up the money to put in place the facility once it is quality assured and they know they will get better. This is what the patients want.

Hear, hear.

I emphasise this is the Government's health policy.

The Minister's time has expired.

I am pursuing the Government's health policy. It was agreed in the programme for Government and any initiatives will be agreed by the Cabinet. Those that are rejected will not proceed while those that receive support will be pursued with enthusiasm.

I wish to share time with Deputy Michael Ring.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I begin, like other speakers, by congratulating Deputy Brian Cowen on his appointment as Taoiseach and I wish him well in that position. He knows the Fine Gael Party will support him on those occasions when he deserves support and I hope we will be constructively critical on other occasions. I also congratulate all those who have been re-appointed to Government, as well as some of the new appointees. In the brief time available to me, I wish my constituency colleague, Deputy Séamus Brennan well and a speedy return to good health. We have been constituency colleagues in Dublin South since 1981 and I hope he will return to work for his constituents and that we will continue to compete in the manner we have in the past.

I also commiserate with my constituency colleague, Deputy Tom Kitt. Deputy Kitt laboured hard for the Government for many years as Chief Whip and it comes as a surprise to many to discover he is not part of the Government and has not been appointed to a senior position. In sympathising with him, the reason for this became apparent as today's speeches progressed. It is clear that at present, the country does not have a coalition Government. The Green Party has become more Fianna Fáil than Fianna Fáil itself. Deputy Gormley could barely contain himself from jumping up and down. Had he been allowed to deliver a third speech as a paean to the Taoiseach, he would have done so. It is now clear that Deputy Eamon Ryan represents Fianna Fáil in the constituency of Dublin South and I wonder how long it will take before the Green Party simply amalgamates with the Fianna Fáil Party.

I listened with interest to the Green Party Members talking about climate change. While all Members are concerned about climate change, it is time to begin to examine some of the policies in this regard more carefully. It is time to consider the consequences of what is being done in these areas. Perhaps this might dawn on the Government, if it is not completely enthralled by being obliged to embrace everything the Green Party had to say to obtain its support in Government. It appears that globally, there is a major campaign for clean air to tackle the problems associated with CO2, which is hugely important. The promotion of bio-fuels apparently also is promoting, in the interests of humanity, global famine. I refer to the major problems now emerging in Third World countries. Moreover, crop changes in First World countries to produce bio-fuels are having a dramatic impact on the world. There now is a need to reconsider carefully the directions in which we are heading. While I am unsure whether Deputy Gormley will allow his new pals to do so, this issue must be taken seriously.

Since my return to the Dáil at the last election, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon, which differs somewhat to one I have observed in my previous 21 years in this House. It appears this phenomenon will continue under the present Government, which is regrettable because it results in growing cynicism in politics and undermines the political credibility of the Government and this House. The predecessor to this Government was interested in power without responsibility. When anything went right, it claimed it had achieved something while when anything went wrong, everyone ducked responsibility. The speech disappointingly delivered by the Taoiseach today was a classic example of this phenomenon. He referred to the OECD report which, in the language of that institution, constitutes a damning indictment of the failures of the Government to reform our public services. He spoke of a new emphasis to be put on performance or on outcomes, as opposed to bureaucracy.

However, the Government, of which he was Minister for Finance, failed abysmally to do so at any time. He had his personal critique of the HSE, which the Minister for Health and Children sought to shoot down. Clearly, the HSE as a bureaucracy is not working. It is not accountable to this House. It is an example of a second phenomenon, that is, Government without accountability. While the Minister wants to have inquiries into everything that goes wrong with the HSE, she never wants blame to be assigned and no one should be regarded as being accountable. The Government should accept responsibility and recognise its true accountability to this House, as well as the need to amend substantially the legislation governing the HSE and other bodies to make them truly accountable to this House for the poor services they provide.

I congratulate Deputy Brendan Smith on his promotion from his post as Minister of State with responsibility for children to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I also congratulate Deputy Brian Lenihan on his move from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the Department of Finance. However, in congratulating them, I raise a concern to which the Taoiseach failed to refer in his speech. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children now has been sitting for six months to achieve a consensus on a substantial amendment to the Constitution——

I must call Deputy Ring.

—— and to agree the principles of substantive legislation. Deputy Barry Andrews now has been appointed to the position of Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs. He has not attended meetings of the joint committee and is not privy to its proceedings. Deputy Dermot Ahern now is the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform instead of being the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

I must call Deputy Ring.

It seems that in making these appointments, the intent of the Taoiseach essentially is to sabotage six months' work of that committee. I find it extraordinary that the two Ministers who have been directly involved in the work of the joint committee have been replaced by two other Ministers, who have been parachuted in without having had hand, act or part in the hearings, submissions or discussions that have taken place in the past six months. This creates a major problem for the continued working of this joint committee.

Deputy Ring has four minutes.

I congratulate the new Taoiseach and Tánaiste. I am delighted to see power being taken out of Dublin and am glad it has gone to the midlands. I also am glad the Tánaiste comes from the north west as it was time to take power from Dublin. I hope that after the next election, it will move further west and the Taoiseach will be from County Mayo.

I will speak softly today for the benefit of Deputy Harney because she was upset recently when I spoke too loudly. Consequently I will be nice and soft today.

My point was the Deputy should speak softly and carry a big stick.

She is not the only one.

Deputy Séamus Brennan is a man in this House for whom I have great time. I was Fine Gael spokesperson for social and family affairs and when Deputy Brennan came into this House, he did not know a great deal about social welfare. However, he was prepared to listen and learn. I found him to be a highly compassionate and decent man who gave loyal service to Fianna Fáil, the Government and the State. I was sorry to hear he is sick and am sorry he has left the Cabinet today.

The outgoing Taoiseach has spent the past month accepting tributes paid to him. Although Deputy Séamus Brennan also was part of the Government, he has departed today. In Deputy Brennan's absence, I wish to put on record, for his benefit and that of his wife and family, that he is a man of compassion to whom I brought many problems. He is a man who listened and dealt with such problems quietly. He was not afraid to listen to the Opposition or to take on ideas. I am sorry to note his departure from the Cabinet but I wish him well. Perhaps now he will be able to deal with his health problems. It would not have been easy to do so before, given the pressures of being a Minister. I wish him well and hope he has a speedy recovery. I mean this sincerely.

As for the Government, the Taoiseach had a wonderful opportunity today and it is a pity he did not introduce new faces. There is only one new person in the Cabinet today as everyone else had attended Cabinet meetings beforehand. It is like musical chairs or moving the chairs around on the Titanic. I regret he did not bring in more new faces and did not move other Ministers around. I will not criticise Deputy Harney tonight because she has taken a lot of stick that Fianna Fáil should take. The only reason Fianna Fáil allows her to remain there is because it has destroyed the Progressive Democrats. Moreover, it will destroy the Green Party, which will not be heard from after the next election. The Ministers, Deputies Gormley and Ryan, should enjoy their time in their State cars because they will not have them after the next general election. The Green Party will not be heard of then.

I will give the House a simple example of the problems in the Department of Health and Children. When the Government established the HSE, no staff lost their old jobs in the old health boards or the Department. Under the nursing home subvention scheme, the Government took money from old people who were unable to meet nursing home costs. I understood that it was planned to repay €1 billion to such people, but it now seems that just €400 million will be paid. I will tell the House who the real winners are. The State has paid €7 million to consultants. They will get €15 million before the scheme comes to an end. They have taken money from poor people. It is not above board. When we ask questions in the Dáil, we do not get answers. We are not told what is happening. We are told it is a matter for the constituents and the consultancy company. What is going on is wrong. Too many consultants and agencies are taking the State's money. I understand that consultants are contacting the Chairmen of Oireachtas committees to see if they can be given responsibility for compiling certain reports. They are looking for business from the Government. The biggest business in this country is the business of consultants.

I ask the Taoiseach to examine the stealth taxes which are putting this country's small businesses out of business. More and more small businesses are losing jobs every day as a result of the stealth taxes imposed by the local authorities and the Government. It is something that has to be considered if we are to support small businesses, which are the backbone of this economy, rather than putting them out of business.

Many of the speakers opposite have congratulated the new Taoiseach and the various Ministers who have been proposed for nomination. Before the House divides in a few moments, I would like to express my appreciation of the generosity of many of the tributes which have been paid by Opposition Deputies during this debate. As Deputy Kenny pointed out when he opened this debate on behalf of the Opposition, it is an honour to serve in government. The Taoiseach is permitted to appoint a maximum of 14 Ministers to his Government. It is a singular honour to hold any one of those offices. While all Ministries carry certain responsibilities, the office to which I am to be appointed is one of particular responsibility. Under the Constitution, Ministers must act collectively and be collectively accountable to this House.

Deputy Shatter expressed concerns about the proposed referendum on children's rights. I assure him that the new Ministers will be briefed by their predecessors about the work of the committee. The Government will act collectively on that issue, just as it will in respect of the many other matters with which it is faced.

One of the themes of this debate has been the negativity of the commentary on the Minister for Health and Children. She gave a robust account of her stewardship of that Department. We have full confidence in her. The decisions for which she is held accountable are collective decisions of the Cabinet. I have been concerned for some time about the quality of the debate in this House on the subject of health care. I refer to the unthinking opposition to the concept of co-location, for example.

That is an insult.

While I can understand why some Deputies with a particular ideological bias object to co-location, I do not understand why many Deputies do not see that the question of co-location relates to the total absence of any pricing system within our hospital structures. The Minister, Deputy Harney, has mentioned this evening that more than 100,000 people have had to be treated under the National Purchase Treatment Fund. In that context, the Deputies opposite should examine carefully the health service structures, systems and operations which are producing such an extraordinary level of demand.

There is a reason for that.

I can give the Minister chapter and verse on the winding down of the public orthopaedic service in Cork.

It is in complete opposition to certain——

There is universal health insurance.

We are trying to have a debate, lads.

It is clear that the Opposition parties do not care to scrutinise the substantial vested interests operating in this area.

Deputy Kenny spoke about this country's economic position. As someone who has been sitting on the Government benches for some time, I have often heard Opposition Deputies saying that the successful stewardship of the economy by several recent Governments has been entirely due to international factors. However, Deputy Kenny told us this evening that we should ignore international factors. He suggested that all this country's economic difficulties can be laid at the feet of the Government. The truth lies in between, of course — we must study and apply our intelligence to the international factors before responding intelligently to those factors over which we have control.

Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le gach éinne as ucht an tacaíochta a thug siad dom go pearsanta. Is mór an phribhléid agus onóir dom é gur mise an chéad Tánaiste as Dún na nGall, an chontae ina bhfuil mé i mo chónaí. Go mórmhór, ba mhaith liom ómós a thabhairt don Taoiseach as ucht an Rialtais atá roghnaithe aige anocht agus a bheidh tofa i gceann cúpla nóiméad, i mo thuairim. It is with great pride and pleasure that I stand here this evening. I have been honoured by the Taoiseach, who has nominated me for appointment as Tánaiste. I support him as Taoiseach and wish him every success.

I have listened to the views of other Members. Their vision is not our vision. Our vision is one of compassion, social justice, economic opportunity and civic participation by all citizens, all of the time. That vision is a reflection of the man who is our political leader. The Taoiseach is a man of compassion. He believes in the real republican ideal. His intellect allows him to understand what real social justice is all about. As a Deputy for Donegal South-West, I am aware of the vision, compassion and listening skills the Taoiseach showed as Minister for Health when dealing with the unfortunate hepatitis C debacle. He listened to the people and addressed their concerns. I am familiar with the Taoiseach's vision for people with special needs, particularly those with intellectual disabilities. As Minister for Finance, he continued the work he had done as Minister for Health in supporting those who are less fortunate in our society.

The Taoiseach is not a man of personal ambition, but of ambition for this country. He wants to allow all our citizens to participate in society. He understands the challenges faced by young people, in particular. He will give all young people an opportunity to participate in the social aspects of the economy. We will foster the ability of such people to achieve what they can. The members of the Government, representing the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party and Fianna Fáil, will ensure that the Taoiseach's vision is realised. In steering this country, we will bear in mind the needs of the community, particularly those who are less well-off. We will ensure that economic success and prosperity are afforded to all. That will not be done in a singular way. We will work together to tackle various challenges, particularly in the economy. The prudent work of the outgoing Minister for Finance will be continued under the stewardship of the incoming Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan.

While we are open to constructive criticism from the Opposition parties, we will not necessarily listen to it all. We have a vision for what we want this country to achieve. As members of the Cabinet, we will work together to that end. This country's resources will be used for the betterment of all the people, who have joint ownership of those resources. Therefore, it is with great pride that I add to the voices of many of my colleagues on this side of the House who have spoken about the recommended composition of the new Cabinet. In particular, I commend to the House the leadership of the new Taoiseach, who is a man of great honour. He has rural and urban Ireland in his heart. He is a man of compassion. He has huge ambition for this nation. In supporting him, I am mindful of the personal and political respect that has been shown to him in this House. He holds those who are elected to this House in the highest regard, regardless of their political hue. The Taoiseach's respect for this Chamber is emphasised by the honourable manner in which he has represented the constituency of Laois-Offaly over many years. Arís, a Cheann Comhairle, molaim an Rialtais agus, go mórmhór, an Taoiseach é fhéin.

Toisc go bhfuil sé 8.30 i.n., tá orm an cheist a chur de bhun rún na Dála inniu. As it is now 8.30 p.m., I am required to put the question in accordance with a resolution of the Dáil today.

Cuireadh an cheist: "Go n-aontaíonn Dáil Éireann leis an dTaoiseach d'ainmniú na dTeachtaí a ainmníodh chun a gceaptha ag an tUachtarán mar chomhaltaí den Rialtas."

Question put: "That Dáil Éireann approves the nomination by the Taoiseach of the Deputies nominated for appointment by the President to be members of the Government."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 87; Níl, 74.

  • Ahern, Bertie.
  • Ahern, Dermot.
  • Ahern, Michael.
  • Ahern, Noel.
  • Andrews, Barry.
  • Andrews, Chris.
  • Ardagh, Seán.
  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Behan, Joe.
  • Blaney, Niall.
  • Brady, Áine.
  • Brady, Cyprian.
  • Brady, Johnny.
  • Browne, John.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Carey, Pat.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Conlon, Margaret.
  • Connick, Seán.
  • Coughlan, Mary.
  • Cowen, Brian.
  • Cregan, John.
  • Cuffe, Ciarán.
  • Cullen, Martin.
  • Curran, John.
  • Dempsey, Noel.
  • Devins, Jimmy.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Fahey, Frank.
  • Finneran, Michael.
  • Fitzpatrick, Michael.
  • Fleming, Seán.
  • Flynn, Beverley.
  • Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
  • Gogarty, Paul.
  • Gormley, John.
  • Grealish, Noel.
  • Hanafin, Mary.
  • Harney, Mary.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Hoctor, Máire.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kelly, Peter.
  • Kenneally, Brendan.
  • Kennedy, Michael.
  • Killeen, Tony.
  • Kirk, Seamus.
  • Kitt, Michael P.
  • Kitt, Tom.
  • Lenihan, Brian.
  • Lenihan, Conor.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • Mansergh, Martin.
  • Martin, Micheál.
  • McDaid, James.
  • McEllistrim, Thomas.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • Moloney, John.
  • Moynihan, Michael.
  • Mulcahy, Michael.
  • Nolan, M. J.
  • Ó Cuív, Éamon.
  • Ó Fearghaíl, Seán.
  • O’Brien, Darragh.
  • O’Connor, Charlie.
  • O’Dea, Willie.
  • O’Flynn, Noel.
  • O’Hanlon, Rory.
  • O’Keeffe, Batt.
  • O’Keeffe, Edward.
  • O’Rourke, Mary.
  • O’Sullivan, Christy.
  • Power, Peter.
  • Power, Seán.
  • Roche, Dick.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Sargent, Trevor.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Treacy, Noel.
  • Wallace, Mary.
  • White, Mary Alexandra.
  • Woods, Michael.

Níl

  • Allen, Bernard.
  • Bannon, James.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Ulick.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Clune, Deirdre.
  • Connaughton, Paul.
  • Coonan, Noel J.
  • Costello, Joe.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Crawford, Seymour.
  • Creed, Michael.
  • Creighton, Lucinda.
  • D’Arcy, Michael.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deenihan, Jimmy.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • English, Damien.
  • Enright, Olwyn.
  • Feighan, Frank.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Flanagan, Terence.
  • Gilmore, Eamon.
  • Hayes, Brian.
  • Hayes, Tom.
  • Higgins, Michael D.
  • Hogan, Phil.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kenny, Enda.
  • Lynch, Ciarán.
  • Lynch, Kathleen.
  • McCormack, Pádraic.
  • McEntee, Shane.
  • McGinley, Dinny.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McManus, Liz.
  • Mitchell, Olivia.
  • Morgan, Arthur.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Neville, Dan.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • O’Donnell, Kieran.
  • O’Dowd, Fergus.
  • O’Mahony, John.
  • O’Shea, Brian.
  • O’Sullivan, Jan.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Perry, John.
  • Quinn, Ruairí.
  • Rabbitte, Pat.
  • Reilly, James.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Shatter, Alan.
  • Sheahan, Tom.
  • Sheehan, P. J.
  • Sherlock, Seán.
  • Shortall, Róisín.
  • Stagg, Emmet.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Timmins, Billy.
  • Tuffy, Joanna.
  • Upton, Mary.
  • Varadkar, Leo.
  • Wall, Jack.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Pat Carey and John Curran; Níl, Deputies Paul Kehoe and Emmet Stagg.
Question declared carried.
The Dáil adjourned at 8.50 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 8 May 2008.
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