Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The effect of the motion, if accepted, would be that the Taoiseach would attend on each sitting day but in reality would be here on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to deal with matters of a topical nature arising on the Order of Business; that the Labour Party would retain its position as the second party in Opposition in respect of Leaders' Questions because it is a defined and growing party, under the relevant Standing Order; and that the Taoiseach would answer Leaders' Questions on each sitting day, that is, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

In recent years we have discussed Dáil reform and more effective working of the House. There are arguments for and against many of the motions. We have not had a serious proposal for some time from the Government Whip as to what could be done.

I recall a Thursday before Christmas when an allegation about involvement in the planning process in County Roscommon was raised. The Taoiseach was not present to answer it on that occasion but he did come into the House in the afternoon to make a statement because he felt he had not infringed the planning process in any way. There are occasions on Thursday mornings, in particular, where it would be appropriate that the Taoiseach should be present to answer on issues of the day, topical questions Deputies wish to raise or issues that arise from legislation, be it stem cell research, the closure of factories, issues relating to Europe, the war on terrorism or whatever. The motion deals with those three issues — that the Taoiseach should be present on sitting days, namely, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; that he would answer Leaders' Questions on those days; and that the Labour Party would retain its position as currently applies.

In the seven years since the Government has been in office it has spent extraordinary sums of people's money to achieve extraordinarily little. The status of the Dáil has been reduced to that of mere nuisance. As a consequence, democracy is diminished, public trust is broken and cynicism, apathy and disaffection occur on a widespread scale. People regard politicians as all being members of the brown envelope brigade. The Government has relegated the people to mere spectators in the political process. That political process decides how people live their lives and, in many cases, how they die. That is quite an achievement.

We want the Government to be more accountable to the Dáil, to the public, and to stop behaving like a self-serving privileged elite; an elite that often ignores, accommodates and protects, in some cases, the wrongdoings of its members in order to shore up political ambition.

When we raised the matter of ethics here earlier, there were shouts from the Government benches. Politics is not trivial. It is about public duty, about making life better for the people, about guaranteeing a future for the next generation and making that essential difference.

I recall the late Deputy John Kelly speaking here nearly 20 years ago about an address the then Taoiseach gave to a Fianna Fáil women's group which was reported in The Irish Times. He told them that to get past the convention they would have to eat a diet of humble pie, keep the middle ground, keep in with everyone, even though they may hate them, and, above all, be prepared to sell their souls. If one believes that a candidate should sell his or her political soul to get past the Fianna Fáil selection convention, one can only imagine what one would have to do if one ever had the ambition to become Taoiseach.

We have seen time and again what Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are prepared to do to hang on to political power. They protect and accommodate and, in some cases, law-breakers have been rewarded for the sake of their political ambition. It has been alleged that they treat the public finances as a private election slush fund, spending not according to what the people need, but according to the number of votes it will buy them.

There was the stroke on budget day that reduced the Civil Service to what it might consider its proper status, a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat electioneering tool. The Equality Authority, which deals mainly with the courts in Dublin, is moving to Roscrea. There was no consultation. The hallmark of the Government has been that on any issue that has to be raised, the consultants are the first to be called in to give their response.

The manner in which the Taoiseach ambled in here on a spring evening to announce that a general election was to be held is a demonstration of the way he often treats the Chamber, whereas it should be the most public and most important forum in the land. He strolled into the House, after 9 p.m. and announced we were having a general election.

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