Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

This country needs a new Government that can deal with the problems that are facing the people, can come to grips with the need to get people back to work, get some confidence back into the economy, get a fresh start and enable people to move on from the mess that Fianna Fáil has created. A new Government is needed which can deal with the issue of bonuses paid by banks, which was raised by Deputy Kenny, with some authority. We need a Government which has the authority and confidence of the people and can stand up for Ireland, deal with international institutions and renegotiate the EU and IMF deal.

We need a Government which has a horizon of four to five years to take the necessary decisions to bring about the changes that are needed in the country. We do not have such a Government. We have a dysfunctional Government. The Taoiseach survived a Fianna Fáil motion of confidence yesterday, which is the party's business. However, he does not enjoy the confidence of a majority of the Members of the House. He and his Government do not enjoy the confidence of the people. Some nine out of every ten people in the country have no confidence in the Government and want it out of office.

The Green Party has clearly lost confidence in the future of the Government because it has announced its intended withdrawal from it. Some Ministers have clearly lost confidence in the ability of the Government to be re-elected because they do not propose to stand for re-election.

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