Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "General Election" in the first line and substitute the following:

"commends the Government for the strategic vision which it has displayed and the competence with which it has discharged its duties, such that:

— more than 600,000 jobs have been created since the Government took office in 1997 while the rate of unemployment has been reduced from 10.3% to 4.3% over the same period;

— a new strategy for science, technology and innovation to 2013 is being implemented, involving the initial investment of €2.7 billion up to 2008, which will drive economic growth, continue to create high quality and high paying jobs and facilitate social advancement;

— a truly integrated national transport network is being developed in Ireland through a record €7.8 billion investment in transport infrastructure over the past 9 years and a further €34.4 billion investment under Transport 21, which is the largest infrastructure programme ever undertaken in this State and will mean that €9.4 million is invested in transport every day for the next 10 years;

— the introduction of a national disability strategy has supported and reinforced the equal participation in society of people with disabilities through a €900 million multi-annual investment programme for disability support services and the implementation of a range of new legislative measures;

— the Office of the Minister for Children was established giving a clear focus on the needs of children at the heart of Government with the responsible Minister at the Cabinet table and an integrated approach to the implementation of the National Children's Strategy across all the relevant Departments;

— countless deaths and serious illnesses caused by second hand tobacco smoke are being avoided and the quality of people's lives have been vastly improved because the Government took the courageous step of introducing a smoking ban in workplaces across the country;

— the economy is being managed in a way that delivers increased prosperity for all citizens, allows increased resources to be used to improve public infrastructure, and allows for enhanced social services aimed at addressing the needs of the less fortunate in our society;

— Ireland's fiscal performance is among the best in the developed world, with Government indebtedness the second lowest in the euro area;

— this country now has a far more equitable tax system where the top one per cent of earners pay more than 20% of all income tax and the top 4% of all earners are expected to contribute about 40% of the total income tax yield for 2006, and where those on or below the average industrial wage will pay only 6% of all income tax, and where OECD data shows that once again Ireland has the lowest tax wedge (i.e. income tax plus employee and employer PRSI) as a proportion of gross wages in the EU;

— the necessary resources have been provided to meet the priority needs in frontline and essential services such as new health units and disability services in the health area, special needs teachers and assistants in the education area and greatly increased numbers of gardaí to ensure public safety and to fight crime;

— the net impact of the Government's successful measures to boost employment and improve social welfare rates has been to remove 250,000 people from consistent poverty;

— the public is getting maximum value for money, through a robust framework that has been put in place for appraising and delivering capital projects from the multi-annual programme of capital investment which, at twice the European average, is transforming our infrastructure, with most projects now coming in ahead of time and within budget;

— there has been an unprecedented reduction in waiting times for hospital procedures achieved through the National Treatment Purchase Fund and increased investment in hospitals and specialist staff, so that in most instances, the NTPF will offer treatment to any patient waiting more than three months;

— the establishment of the Health Service Executive and its role in bringing unified management for the first time to major projects in information technology, hospital buildings and new services, is achieving consistent national service standards and best value for money;

— significant improvements have been achieved over recent months in some of our 35 A & E departments through the substantial actions and unprecedented focus by management to address the problems that existed there;

— there has been a five-fold increase in investment in school buildings, a new proactive approach to school planning in developing areas has been introduced and by next September there will be 4,000 more teachers in our primary schools;

— an unprecedented programme of resourcing and reform of the criminal justice system has been undertaken, including bringing the strength of the Garda Síochána up to 14,000, so that serious crime rates are now lower per head of population than 10 years ago;

— the Prison Service had sufficient resources to end the scandal of the 'revolving door';

— the most comprehensive range of legislative measures to combat crime and anti-social behaviour in all its forms was introduced;

— there was an immediate response by the State in successfully appealing to the Supreme Court the decision of the High Court to release 'Mr. A' and that emergency legislation was speedily enacted to deal with the issues arising from the Supreme Court judgment in the 'CC case';

— a new comprehensive approach to road safety was introduced involving the establishment of the Road Safety Authority and the Garda Traffic Corps, the expansion of the penalty points system including the introduction of a fully computerised nationwide system from April and the soon to be enacted Road Traffic Bill 2006 will introduce mandatory alcohol testing, privately-operated speed cameras and a ban on hand-held mobile phones when driving;

— the €499 million Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 was implemented, securing the creation of 41,000 new quality child care places by programme end, of which 29,000 were in place by the end of 2005;

— the €575 million on-going investment in the New National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010, will create an additional 50,000 child care places;

— there have been substantial increases in child benefit, which has quadrupled since 1997, and is now supplemented by the early childcare supplement, a universal payment of 1,000 euro per annum in respect of each child under the age of six;

— there have been very substantial improvements in maternity benefit, parental leave and adoptive leave since the Government took office;

— radical reform in the area of consumer protection was introduced by establishing the new Consumer Agency and abolishing the Groceries Order, which kept prices artificially high;

— the regional broadband strategy has resulted in a rapidly growing, competitive broadband market that has seen a tripling of broadband take-up, falling prices and greater choice in services and providers for the consumer;

— the largest ever spending on social welfare at €13.5 billion (equivalent to double the spend in 2000) was introduced in the last budget benefiting 1.5 million people;

— the commitment in the programme for Government to increase child benefit to €150 for the first two children and €185 for each subsequent child was achieved in this year's budget;

— the carer's allowance was increased to €200 per week for those over 66 (an increase of almost €43 in two years) and €180 per week for those under 66 (an increase of more than €40 in two years) and that the respite care grant increased to €1,200 (up from €835 in two years);

— pensioners have a decent income by increasing rates this year by €16 to €193 .30 (contributory) and €14 to €182 (non-contributory);

— the policies and investment were put in place to deliver record increases in housing supply, including the building of one third of all houses in Ireland in the period since 1997 — more than half a million new homes — and the needs of almost 100,000 households were provided for through various social and affordable programmes in the same period; and

concludes that the best interests of the country and the people are served by allowing the Government to complete its programme before the dissolution of the 29th Dáil and the holding of a general election, which is due next year."

I wish to share my time with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and Deputies Curran, O'Connor and Mulcahy.

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