Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I would have masochistic tendencies if I sought a general election since I was only elected to the Dáil in March last year. However, I must admit to being less interested in who fills particular portfolios and more interested in the functioning and direction of government. The progress of this Government will be measured by the electorate in terms of solid delivery on the grounds of key public services. There are high profile failures on that score.

It is well understood that this country is awash with money, but has financial opportunity yielded the kind of results that should have been produced? It seems, for example, that there is a paralysis in decision making when the decision on a couple of hundred buses to ease the traffic crisis in Dublin and the surrounding counties is continually delayed. There is a failure to recognise and plan for the rapid nature of population growth. That is why in places like Kildare there are too many examples of where class sizes are above 30 or where entire housing estates are without water for days on end because critical infrastructure lags behind housing development, not because of delays in the planning process but because of the failure to fund projects.

Recently a report issued by TASC identified 450 public bodies in existence at the end of 2005. The report touches on the key Government style, which I would describe as a hands-off model. It is ad hoc, it is irrational, it is expensive and it is not improving services.

The Government amendment commends the Government for the strategic vision it has displayed and the competence with which it has discharged its duties. Try telling that to the parent who contacted me today in utter distress because vital educational supports have been removed from her child who has special educational needs or to the 370 children aged six or over who have home tuition provided because this cash-rich State cannot provide them with a school place. It is time we decided that we are living in a society and stop this idea that we are living in some sort of an economy and trying to present that as some sort of a boon in its own right.

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