Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I congratulate my colleagues on their nominations. I particularly congratulate Deputy Frances Fitzgerald as the newly appointed Tánaiste and the new members joining the Cabinet, Deputies Katherine Zappone, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, Simon Harris, Michael Creed, Shane Ross and Denis Naughten.

I thank my former officials and staff in the Department of Health who were behind me and worked so hard for so many years. It is with mixed feelings and some regret that I am moving from that Department. It was a tough job, probably one of the toughest in politics, but it is one in which one can make a real difference. Certainly, I and my Government colleagues were delighted last week to reach the point of securing planning permission and funding for the new children's hospital after 20 years of effort. The new Minister, Deputy Harris, will carry out the sod turning for that in a few months and I will be delighted to see it. We were also able to take the first steps towards free GP care by providing it to everybody under six and over 70 years of age, regardless of income. That will continue and be extended to all children under 18 years of age as the programme for Government states. There was also the publication of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill that will save lives.

I am sure, and I sincerely hope, it will get through the Dáil and the Seanad without too much dispute. Getting legislation through this new Dáil will be difficult but I hope when it comes to issues such as that, legislation which should have the broad support of both Houses will get through quickly.

I thank the Taoiseach for nominating me to head up the Department of Social Protection. It is a Department with a very large budget, one which has an enormous impact on people's lives - pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, jobseekers and many others. I am conscious that I am the first Fine Gael Minister to hold that office in 30 years, which is of significance. It is a long time since my party held the Department of Education and Science and Deputy Richard Bruton is there now, and it is a long time since my party had the opportunity to hold office in the Department of Social Protection and I think that is going to be very significant.

I wish to recognise the outgoing Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, who I think was a real reforming and successful Minister in that Department in a very difficult time. During that period she transformed the Department from one that made payments to one that was much more about activation and helping people to move into the workforce. I hope I can build on some of the work she did in that particular role.

I wish to push forward Fine Gael's policy of introducing a working family payment, one that will support families in a much better way than the family income supplement, FIS, does currently, removing poverty traps and making sure that work always pays, because for some families in this State it is not worth entering the workforce and that is something that should change, not in a punitive way but by providing a different system of assisting families to move into work. That could be a really big change, not just in terms of reducing poverty but also activating more people and allowing them to get into the labour market and to work with all the non-economic, social benefits and health benefits that come from work.

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