Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I congratulate the Minister on his recent appointment to the Department of Transport and the Marine and wish him well in that job which is certainly a very onerous one with a wide area of responsibility coming under his remit. I am sure he has noted the fact his two immediate predecessors ran into considerable controversy during their term in office. Each of them had to serve a term in purgatory in the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which I think would be fair to describe it. I am sure the Minister does not intend to go down the same road.

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