Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

In tabling this motion, Fine Gael hoped to promote a serious debate on the future prospects of the economy, which depends on competitiveness. Together with my colleagues, I recognised the initial economic success of the Government in its first three years in office. However, we also charted the subsequent change in policy and demonstrated how a series of serious policy mistakes caused Ireland to fall from fifth to 22nd place in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness rankings. In the greater part of my speech, I focused on Fine Gael's proposals to restore competitiveness. I concluded with an optimistic outlook for the economy in the longer term, provided we make the necessary changes in areas such as infrastructure, regulation and public sector reform. One Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, described public sector reform as the elephant in the room, an old order that has to change. After ten years, however, nothing is going to change as long as this Government stays in power.

Despite the comments of the Members opposite, most of my speech dealt with Fine Gael's serious proposals to improve competitiveness, but all of them were ignored by the Ministers involved. Rather than engaging in a serious debate on this issue, all three Ministers delivered snide, negative, mean-spirited and bitter speeches that were unbecoming of Ministers who have been in office for ten years.

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