Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

As another Member of the House has pointed out, I have been only a wet week in politics. However, during my 11 months as a Member of this House, I have seen many changes: the resignation of four party leaders; the election of four new party leaders to replace them; the resignation of a Taoiseach; and today, the election of a new one.

Being elected Taoiseach is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on an Irish politician. On a personal level, I extend my congratulations to Deputy Brian Cowen on his election as Taoiseach. I also extend my congratulations to the Cabinet on their appointment, in particular to the new Tánaiste, who I look forward to tangoing with over the next few months, to the Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, who has decided to leave the country rather than deal with unemployment and business closures, and also to my constituency colleague, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who I am sure will ensure there are no cutbacks in Dublin West, as, otherwise, he will feel the consequences.

However, I cannot help but wish that for the country's sake the events of today had been otherwise. We have today a Government the people did not vote for and a Taoiseach the people did not vote for. More than that, we do not have the one thing the country needs, namely, a Government made up of Ministers who understand and fathom the depth of the difficulties before us, who are committed to delivering change and driving reform and who are led by a Taoiseach with a record of achievement, competency and integrity. We have none of that tonight. The Taoiseach and these Ministers fail the test of competence in three key areas: ethics, the economy and equity.

On the subject of ethics, the Taoiseach is continuity Fianna Fáil. While I do not believe him to be unethical, I know him to be a politician who has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to low standards in public office throughout his political career. He turned a blind eye when Liam Lawlor was elected to chair the ethics committee of this House. He sat next to Ray Burke in Cabinet. He defended loyally, without question, his predecessor's assertions in this House. His first act as leader of his party was to readmit to its ranks a Deputy who made a career of encouraging people to evade their taxes. Ireland does not need a Taoiseach or Ministers who value loyalty ahead of honesty or integrity. Ireland needs a Government that understands that our fellow citizens are the real victims of corruption and a Government that is committed to rooting it out.

On the economy, the Taoiseach and these Ministers have squandered the boom. They could have used the prosperity of the past ten years to lay the foundations for future growth by investing in infrastructure and education and by preparing Ireland for the inevitable downturn that will come, sooner or later. Instead, as the then Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach increased current account public spending by 10.5% every year at a time when the economy was not growing that fast. He transformed a surplus of €2.3 billion in 2003 into a projected borrowing requirement of €7 billion this year, the worst turnaround in the State's public finances in its history.

Ireland does not need a Government that looks abroad to explain away our economic problems. It needs a Government that accepts responsibility for its failure, not one that is in constant denial. It needs a Government that will bring public services and spending under control and restore competitiveness. Above all, we need a Taoiseach of character and substance to lead it. This is not that Government and, regrettably, this is not that Taoiseach.

It has been said in this House that Deputy Cowen's predecessor was a lucky Taoiseach. He was fortunate to inherit from the Rainbow Government an economy growing at 10%, creating a thousand jobs a week, and the lowest inflation in Europe, as Deputy Gilmore pointed out. The Taoiseach and his Ministers are not so fortunate. He is inheriting an economic downturn that is not entirely but largely of his own making. He will have to take responsibility for the emerging economic crisis and he will have to take tough decisions to put it right. He will have to take responsibility for public services, which he has undermined and damaged through his flawed policies. He will have to grapple with the consequences of the low ethical standards which he has fostered and tolerated. If he does not do this, and I expect he will not, in three or four years he will lead his party to its worst electoral performance since 1927 — he will lead it to an apocalypse.

Over the next four years we, as the Opposition, will hold the Taoiseach to account, expose his failures and highlight the injustices he would conceal. We will ensure that on the next occasion on which this House debates a motion on the election of a Taoiseach or a new Government, this country gets what it really needs — not a change of guard but a change of direction, a change of policy and a change of Government.

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