Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Lá mór stairiúil don Chomhaontas Ghlas é seo agus don gluaiseacht glas ar fud na cruinne. Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil le gach duine atá mar bhall den Rialtas. Is lá stairiúil do gach aon duine agus do chlann gach aon duine atá roghnaithe.

Apart from being a proud day for all those appointed, it is a particularly proud day for me and all Green Party members throughout the country. The Ceann Comhairle will understand if I focus on two of the new Ministers whom I am fortunate to have known as friends and colleagues for many years. Deputy Gormley has served for a long time in preparation for the job ahead. I have campaigned with our new Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government since the early 1980s before other parties started to play catch up on key environmental issues that face this country and the world. As a former Lord Mayor of Dublin, he knows about all sides of local government and will drive reform. I am confident we will see great improvements in that area.

Deputy Eamon Ryan is an excellent choice as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. He worked hard at committee level when in Opposition and worked at national level to set up a cross-party partnership to address the long-term planning needs of this country as it prepares for the inevitable reality of a post-oil economy. That job must be done and we hope for movement on it with the co-operation of all sides of the House. This goes beyond party politics, beyond the lifetime of any Government and should be a focus that we should support.

Some have attempted to downplay my party's achievements in the programme for Government. From a political point of view, one does not like to give too much credit to the Government. There are significant changes that would not have happened if the Green Party did not lock horns in negotiations to focus on bringing about the change that cannot wait for another five years and cannot wait for the perfect arrangement that anyone in the Opposition may imagine. All they are doing is imagining. For example, the Kenny report has been neglected by every party in Government. Enough is enough, it must be implemented and included in the programme for Government. We will see that it is done. It is not an examination or a review but implementation of the recommendations of the all-party committee in which Deputy Cuffe and I had a role to play, along with Members of all parties.

There is a long list of measures in the programme for Government. Regarding Shannon, improvements will be made in respect of renditions. We did not achieve an end to US troops passing through Shannon but was that ever possible? I ask people to consider that realistically. Certain members of the Opposition were even more gung-ho about that issue but I do not know what they will do about it.

Organic farming is an issue of passion for me and the Green Party and there is an achievement of a minimum target of 5% acreage in the programme for Government. To have such a target is a new measure.

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