Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

It got rid of a very good man, former Deputy John Bruton, because of an opinion poll, and it rues the day. We will not run away from tough decisions.

In the area of crime, I have an unprecedented agenda, as has been seen in recent times. I have issued some 10 Bills on gangland crime, surveillance and gun control. I call on the party opposite to publically support the initiative I have taken on gun control in order to make sure this country does not have a gun culture. Apart from one or two comments, there has been a deafening silence from the parties opposite, particularly Fine Gael.

I have also moved on the issue of knife crime. I launched the Criminal Procedure Bill in the Seanad today, which looks after the victims of crime and aims to re-balance our criminal justice system in the direction of victims. It is a commitment I gave a year ago. I chose not to, as was the case, plagiarise a Bill from another jurisdiction. I decided to take my time and look at the issue, and did so.

We also have initiatives in the area of arbitration and will introduce an Arbitration Bill, which is the centrepiece of our plan to make Ireland a global centre for international arbitration. We have published the Multi-Units Developments Bill, something the parties opposite criticised us for. We will also introduce the Civil Partnership Bill, among others, particularly in the area of criminal justice.

This Government has a very good story to tell. We have been accused, unfairly, of squandering the boom. If squandering the boom means thousands of extra gardaí, teachers, nurses, doctors-----

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