Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

It is an enormous privilege to have been elected by the people of Dublin South-West to represent them in the 31st Dáil. I recognise the presence of Deputies Maloney and Crowe, who were also elected by the people of that constituency. I congratulate them on their election.

I want to work with all Deputies on all sides of the House in a spirit of co-operation and partnership. Every Member of this Assembly who was elected in the recent election has a mandate, regardless of whether they represent a party or they are in government. As a Government and as a Dáil, we need to ensure we get the best out of people as we try to provide solution-based politics. Rhetoric is fine, but the Irish people have given us all a mandate to provide solutions to their problems. Of course the Government must be tested on the proposals it makes. Tonight's debate is an example of that. Equally, the Government must be prepared to listen not only to Opposition Deputies, but also to Deputies on this side of the House. The 113 Deputies who currently support the Government have a mandate, a role and a responsibility to ensure their voices are heard. Every single Member has such a mandate. In the last 15 years, unfortunately, we got into the habit of tolerating a kind of one-party State in which people's views are ignored, put to one side and not listened to. We need to reform this House radically as a means of ensuring every single Deputy has his or her voice heard and has a role in establishing national policy.

I support the programme for Government that has been negotiated by Fine Gael and the Labour Party. In the recent election, the Irish people gave the two parties a mandate, with a substantial majority, to run this country for the next five years. The Irish people are not stupid. They know exactly the scale of the problem that faces this country. They have given Members on the Government side an enormous majority in this House to support us as we take the difficult decisions that will be necessary over the next four or five years. It was clear in the last week of the campaign, in particular, that such a mandate was being given to both of the parties that are now in government together.

This is a period of enormous uncertainty in this country. I agree with Deputy Clare Daly that employment is the number one issue. We need to reflect on how we will get our people back to work. At a macro level, we need to ensure the tax and social welfare system encourages people to move from benefits to work and provides employers with an opportunity to create work for people. We have an opportunity to grow jobs in every sector of our economy. When I was Fine Gael's education spokesman, I worked with Deputy Naughten to produce a document explaining how 10,000 jobs could be created in the international education sector. There are similar opportunities in many other sectors. Deputy Luke Flanagan, who represents Roscommon-South Leitrim, spoke earlier about job opportunities in agri-tourism. A range of jobs can be provided in each sector as long as we get the macro context right.

I strongly believe the Irish people have given this House a mandate to fix this problem, rather than to kick it down the road for a future generation as we did in the early 1980s when we failed to confront this country's substantial deficit. Not all of the current deficit can be attributed to the enormous problems in the banking sector. We must reflect on the fiscal irresponsibility that was evident when this country spent money it did not have. Public expenditure increased from €37 billion to €62 billion over a four year period. Such a significant increase in expenditure was not sustainable. We need to return to a fiscal position in which the deficit can be reduced. The programme for Government sets a target of reducing the deficit to 3% by 2015. We cannot do that unless we are prepared to make hard decisions.

Difficult decisions are required if we are to transform Government, for example. We have to make Government smaller, starting with this House and with politics. We need to show a lead to the public sector, in particular. We cannot lecture the public sector and the public administration in this country unless we are prepared to take a lead in relation to this issue. It is crucially important that we address the issue of public sector reform. We need to ensure we get smaller and more effective government. I believe this Government will fall or succeed on the basis of its proposals for public sector reform. That is why I am delighted to have a role - working with the Ministers, Deputies Howlin and Noonan, in their respective Departments - in delivering the kind of change the people badly want. As Deputy Harris said in the House last week, the period of mourning is over. I echo that. We have to work with colleagues on all sides to ensure the people of this country are given the hope they so badly need.

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