Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

Motions of no confidence, or in this case the motion of confidence tabled by the Government, are serious matters. It is not a game, show or a piece of political theatre very often described afterwards as a damp squib. The first duty on all of us as elected Members is to provide a strong and stable Government, and nowhere is this more important than during times of recession and economic difficulties.

Under the 1937 Constitution, the Dáil has elected 11 taoisigh. Some have been defeated in general elections, others have resigned during office while others have seen the writing on the wall that they did not command sufficient support and did not allow themselves go forward for election in this House. The House has never formally withdrawn its support from any Taoiseach heretofore and I do not believe Deputy Brian Cowen should be the first Taoiseach to have confidence formally withdrawn by this 30th Dáil.

I say this as somebody who has sat at the Cabinet table with Deputy Cowen for 13 years. At that table I see a man who puts the national interest first on all occasions. He advocates on behalf of the people of this country as he sees it. I do not see, as has been suggested here, a man who is in any way corrupt. Anybody aspiring to the office of Taoiseach knows that in Deputy Brian Cowen we have somebody who is straight, honest and hard-working. We have a person of substance and enormous courage.

As Minister for Health and Children I have seen this very clearly over the past two years. He was rock solid on the cancer control plan and even when there was political pressure to dilute the plan, he did not waver. Unlike others he did not march in his constituency for his local hospital but he put patients first.

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