Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join with all other speakers in congratulating all those who have been promoted to the Cabinet or been moved to different positions in the Cabinet. It is a great pleasure for them and their families except possibly for Deputy Varadkar who has been moved from a very successful ministry into a political swamp that would intimidate anybody but I wish him well.

Having congratulated everybody on what they have done and achieved, I wonder what they have been talking about. Having read the Taoiseach's and Tánaiste's speeches, I wonder what they have been talking about and doing for the past five days because there is virtually nothing new in what they have to say, as every speaker from this side of the House has said. We can only conclude that the policies which they must have agreed so early caused very little difficulty because there are no new policies in these statements and that the juxtaposition of the Cabinet positions was what was important. When one adds that to the obvious imperative of spin and timing that does not coincide with important things like a concert being played in Croke Park, one realises how this Government is actually being run. That is worrying. This could all have been done by Monday or Tuesday but it was not done by Monday or Tuesday for frivolous reasons and for reasons the Government prioritises over things that are important. I am disappointed.

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