Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

As father of the House I wish to speak about the extraordinary circumstances in which we meet; the election of a Ceann Comhairle has never happened before in this way. The revelations about the expenses and costs associated with the office of the previous Ceann Comhairle led to his resignation becoming inevitable. Politics is always about people and in a profession which is devoid of sentiment and sympathy I have always held the belief that it should not be devoid of humanity or a sense of decency. That is why I made no apology for setting out a process which would have allowed the previous Ceann Comhairle to state his position at the forum of the Dáil established for that purpose.

The principles that I set out still stand, even more so in respect of the appointment of a Ceann Comhairle to be made by the Dáil this afternoon. Those principles are that the office is a constitutional office and should be seen to be above politics, should be above politics and there should not be any taint of politics associated with it. For that reason, I made the point previously that where unwarranted expenses were paid to officeholders they should be paid back, and that principle should still apply.

Throughout the controversy the point I made was that this was endemic of a culture that has grown in this country through a party associated with power for too long. The further revelations - not just in respect of the previous Ceann Comhairle but other officeholders - show that this cavalier attitude is not confined to one party in Government. The role of the Ceann Comhairle is an important constitutional office, one that has been tarnished by recent events. Today, we should be beginning the process of rebuilding public confidence in that office and in politics generally.

Common sense should apply at all times and the costs and expenses associated with officeholders should be seen to be transparent and accountable in the interests of the public representatives and the public that they serve. Prudence and common sense should apply at all times and if all of these costs and expenses are within the guidelines set out by the Department of Finance then where they are excessive those guidelines need to be revised. They should be published and seen to be published so that nobody elected by the people to this House should be seen to be in any way associated with what is the public's deep-rooted anger about the body politic.

We should be starting a new process here. I believe that what happens in other parliaments, where the elected members decide by secret ballot who they want to be their speaker, should happen here. It should not be seen as a continuation of more of the same. With the greatest of respect to Deputy Kirk, whose integrity and work rate for his constituency in Louth for many years I cannot question, the fact remains he represents the chairmanship of his political party. This, in the public mind, is not a change, a fresh or new beginning but more of the same.

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