Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

It is my privilege, on behalf of the Labour Party, to second the motion that Deputy Enda Kenny be nominated for appointment by the President as Taoiseach. This is a historic moment, the moment when the two largest parties in the State have joined together in the nation's interest to form a strong and stable Government. It is a Government that knows the national interest is best served by putting the people's interest at the heart of everything it does and every decision it makes.

The 31st Dáil is one of dramatic change. The Government that will be elected here today will have the strongest mandate in the history of our State; a mandate to strive with every fibre of our being for an Ireland we can be proud to hand on to our children. We face the task with humility, with a sense of privilege and with determination. This will be a partnership Government, a national Government, where the best of both Labour and Fine Gael unites to serve those who look to us for hope, leadership and unity of purpose. That purpose now, as it was in the democratic programme of the first Dáil, will be to ensure that Ireland's economic strengths are used to benefit all of her people. In the words of that program, written by Tom Johnson some 92 years ago, our purpose must also be "to secure that no child shall suffer hunger or cold from the lack of food, clothing or shelter", and to provide the "care of the nation's aged and infirm, who shall not be regarded as a burden, but rather entitled to the nation's gratitude and consideration". All of this, then as now, in a free and fair Ireland that we can be proud to call our own.

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