Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

To serve in Government is a great and unique honour and privilege that carries a great responsibility. I congratulate all of the new Cabinet appointees, in particular Deputies Brendan Smith and Batt O'Keeffe. I also congratulate Deputies Barry Andrews and Pat Carey on their appointments as Ministers of State. Deputy Carey stopped me on many occasions in the corridor and asked whether I thought he would ever have a chance. His hour has come.

This is a great day for everyone who has been newly appointed to the Cabinet or moved in a reshuffle and also for their families and constituents. I fully appreciate their enthusiasm and excitement and the daunting challenge faced by those who walk across the corridor to the office at the far end. This will be a day to remember and celebrate.

This is also a day of loneliness for those who leave the Cabinet. I sympathise with Deputy Tom Kitt, who will no longer be in the Whip's office, and I add my voice to those who have expressed the hope that Deputy Séamus Brennan will successfully meet his personal difficulties and go on to play a full part as a political figure and a citizen.

I congratulate the new Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, on her appointment; to be Tánaiste is a wonderful opportunity and honour. Commissioner Mandelson has already been on the telephone saying he is somewhat intrigued that she has been moved. He will now be faced with the daunting prospect of Deputy Brendan Smith as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before the World Trade Organisation talks. I recall Deputy Rabbitte saying the new Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is inclined to pour treacle on the works. He will need a lot of treacle to deal with the economic situation he now faces. I have had my rows with the incoming Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, and I do not believe that the proportion of social welfare recipients in her constituency is that high.

See this speech in context