Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

We are the only party with clear plans to rescue Ireland from the tsunami of misery this Government and the Taoiseach's party has visited upon the nation. We have not, would not and will not try to sweeten the bitter pill Fianna Fáil and the Green Party has forced this country to swallow. That bitter pill is the potential loss of a key aspect of our cherished freedom. This Government will be remembered for generations to come if that applies.

Fine Gael has set out how it will make cuts, effect savings, demand efficiencies and be able to pay back the mountain of debt left to the people. This House, this country and those who watch and listen around the world need to understand this economy can be repaired and Ireland will again be a beacon of enterprise and initiative.

The one tough decision this Government has not faced up to and which it does not have the courage to make is to ask the people to provide the mandate to do what must be done. If the Government makes that decision, everything can change for the better. Does the Taoiseach have the courage to put the nation first or will we continue to be dragged through the mire of uncertainty, fear and confusion the Government created and seems determined to sustain, even when the solution is clear and present? It is that mire of uncertainty, concern and anxiety that one independent commentator described as the downfall of the country. This is a downfall that sees sons and daughters of proud Irish mothers and fathers reared once again for export. It may be that their remittances from Dubai, Sydney and Toronto will replicate what happened in the past. It is a downfall that sees young and old in ever-lengthening dole queues as we break economic records and make international headlines for all the wrong reasons when things could be so different. It is a downfall that has seen the hope and ambition of a generation of Irish people crushed by the political and economic madness of a golden circle at which the Taoiseach's party was at the heart.

Before the full impact of this downfall unfolds, the Taoiseach has an opportunity to do something in the national interest. People talk about the budget. The Government has a majority to vote in favour of the budget but that will not end the uncertainty in the new year, with the Supreme Court making its decision on Donegal South-West, a further three by-elections pending, the Finance Bill to give legislative impact to the budget and the bond markets still having gross uncertainty about the political stability of this country. In the national interest, the Taoiseach can let the people have their say. Hundreds of thousands of people are concerned about their country, their futures, their families, their businesses and their careers. They should have the opportunity to have their say and provide a mandate for what must be done in the future. The Taoiseach should let the people have their say in order to shape the future destiny of our nation. Let the people decide who will run the country. This is their decision. This should be their decision because the Government has lost the authority to govern.

With regard to the bank investors and bondholders, what is needed is a new Government with a strong mandate from the people. The Taoiseach may not like what they have to say but they are entitled to be heard. The choice is clear. The Taoiseach should give the people their opportunity and let the people have their say. A new future and a new direction for our country will bring about a change of confidence, a new stability and a new future.

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