B'áil liom cead a chur in iúl don Dáil gur chuir mé m'ainmniú chun bheith i mo Thaoiseach in iúl don Uachtarán agus gur cheap sé mé dá réir.
I beg leave to state for the information of the Dáil that I have informed the President of the fact that the Dáil has nominated me to be Taoiseach and that he has appointed me accordingly.
Before moving the motion for nomination of members of the new Government, I hope the Dáil will allow me to express briefly my regret that the list does not include some members of the previous Government who have been friends and colleagues of mine for many years. Deputies are aware that Dr. James Ryan, former Minister for Finance, and Mr. Gerald Bartley, former Minister for Defence, did not seek re-election and are not now members of Dáil Éireann. The former Tánaiste, Deputy Seán MacEntee, although re-elected to Dáil Éireann, has made known his desire to be relieved of Ministerial responsibility. All three as Deputies and Ministers served the country to the best of their high abilities and have made significant and high personal contributions to its development. It was with great regret that I accepted that I could not consider them for inclusion in the new Government.