John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I will not do so. However, this is a little silver lining in what has been a very difficult and disappointing election. I pay tribute to the men and women of my party, people of integrity and ability, who put themselves forward and many of whom were rejected. They suffered because of a national situation and the worst recession in the history of the State and because the Government has had to take very unpopular decisions.

I can understand the palpable anger among the public. People have lost their jobs and are standing in dole queues. Others see less money in their pay packets. They find it extremely difficult to access credit from banks. It is no wonder they are angry.

On behalf of the Green Party, I ask the following question. Could the Opposition do a better job? We are faced with the prospect of a chalk and cheese coalition and an Opposition which believes one can make an omelette without cracking an egg. I have not heard the alternative vision. I have not heard Opposition Members spell out, in any detail, how they would make up the €20 billion deficit. It is a monumental task for any Government. Whichever coalition is in power - and it will be a coalition - will have to face the same difficult choices and make the same unpopular expenditure cuts. If Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in Government they would have faced the wrath of the voters. They would have had to face the same difficult choices.

What I find most difficult to accept is that when the Government comes up with good ideas they are rejected. Deputy Ó Caoláin is wrong when he says we are bankrupt of ideas. We are not. We have come up with good policy initiatives. During the course of the election campaign these ideas were rejected once again. We heard the usual litany of negativity. The Opposition managed very well to tap into that negativity, hostility and anger. It disappoints me when I see good ideas, such as the reform of local government and a directly elected mayor for Dublin, rejected.

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