Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Confidence in Government: Motion (resumed)

 

11:00 am

Photo of John MoloneyJohn Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I, too, extend a warm welcome to Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and George Lee. I was not present in the Chamber when the Deputies received an official welcome, although I met Deputy Lee in a corridor.

I welcome the motions before the House as they afford the Government an opportunity to explain its position. While I will always campaign for the Fianna Fáil Party, I do not believe my party should be in government for the sake of it. I hope that over the remaining three years of this Dáil the Opposition parties will produce an alternative policy, rather than one based on opposing with the sole purpose of driving the Government from office.

Having campaigned in my locality in recent weeks, I know people are demanding that the Opposition produce a clear set of policies, comparable to that produced by the Government. This would allow people to arrive at a decision. One cannot expect them to buy in to the view that Fine Gael and the Labour Party offer an alternative when each party provides a distinct set of policy proposals. Until the main Opposition parties are able to show us a single, joint alternative policy, I will have no difficulty opposing motions of no confidence in the Government. The position adopted by the Opposition parties lacks integrity because their opinions and policies differ on areas ranging from banking nationalisation and reform of public bodies to the health services and many other issues.

If one is to have confidence in a person, one must know something about him or her. I have the privilege of having known the Taoiseach since our pre-teen years. In judging his political intent and purpose, one must accept that he faced the temptation, as the elections approached, to pursue popular policies. Not once, however, did he pursue popular choices to maintain our party's current level of representation. The Taoiseach is a person of integrity and ability who put the country rather than his party first. He has been accused of putting his party before country on many occasions but chose not to give into any temptation to do so.

It is also important to put on record in the debate on this confidence motion my feeling about the attacks on the Taoiseach's personality, and on the Government, for instance, the assertion by Deputy Sherlock that nobody would touch this State. We in this country are no longer living in a glasshouse. We are living in an international market where people are also watching the ability of this House to deal with its affairs.

Having listened to the debate this morning, I have great difficulty in seeing the political sense of making the allegation, for instance, that the Government is far more intent on diverting money towards developers and bankers, and forestalling on funding for hospitals. That is most disingenuous and is not true. It has been a ruse used in the campaign but is a charge that does not stand up. It does not tie up for people for whom I would have respect within the Opposition to try to convince the Irish people that we are purely in the business of supporting banks and not in the business of supporting health or other essential services. It is a falsehood to try to create the impression that this country alone is in economic recession. It does not wash either to try to put out the criticism that this country is exclusive in its difficulties of recession and to create the impression further that we do not know our way out of such recession. In that regard, I would rely on persons of a far greater economic mind than myself.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.