Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

As a new Minister, it would be rather strange if I did not come to the House with the view that there were issues which I thought were wrong in the past but on which I did not manage to get my way, and which I would like to tackle now that I have the responsibility. It is about collective Government; it is not about one-person Government. There have been huge improvements, particularly in terms of rates and schemes. The Labour Party was in Government, as was Fine Gael. As Deputy Shortall noted, there is a problem of disincentive to activity rather than incentive in many schemes. I look forward to a radical and progressive debate with the Deputies on how we can tackle these issues.

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