Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

Fair enough, the Deputy is correct that people are not interested in them. They are interested in having a representative they believe in and who they can vote for, be that person male or female. We are not playing party politics but we are tinkering to the media and everyone else trying to introduce gender balances. Most housewives and ordinary women working and in business do not care about it. If they want to seek election to the Dáil they want to do so in their own right as Mary or Angela and not to make up a gender balance. I say this honestly and openly on my own behalf and on behalf of the people who have told me so and offered this view to me time and again. They like politics and dealing with politics. In some cases where we have had female candidates people have told me, and others I am sure, it is not straightforward that they vote for women candidates as they pick the candidate of their choice and on many occasions they bypass or give a low preference to the female candidate. We need to get serious about this and have a real interest.

The Government was elected with a huge majority more than a year ago. We knew the state the economy was in and how serious and precarious the situation was. The Government parties, which were then in opposition, made promises. It diminished politics because there was no need to make any promises as the public was sick and tired of the previous Government which had grown arrogant after ten, 11 or 14 years in office and its members were going to be banished anyway. However, offers and claims were made by Deputy Gilmore, who is now Tánaiste, that it would be the Labour Party's way or Frankfurt's way. It is funny that he had a meeting with the President-elect of France over the weekend because he offered the same thing. Do they share this around? Will it be passed on to the next election, which will be in Greece if another one is held there? Is it a left-wing socialist ideal that they pass around? If they all come together we will have a mighty bonfire and the aeroplanes will not fly in the skies because of the heat from it. We were promised all of this and the Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny, who has spent much time in this House and knows more about its workings than me and many others, promised a five point plan and this, that and the other.

Lo and behold when they formed the coalition they left aside their party manifestoes and five point plans. Everything was put into the tumble dryer and what came out was a pick and mix. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, called us a pick and mix group. However, it was pick and mix because we got this and that and one could not have this or that because the others did not agree. The public are incensed by the con job. We now have a more educated electorate than we did 30 or 40 years ago and they are up to speed with everything. We have a very intrusive media - I would say it is too powerful - and the public is aware and understands. This is why the serious issue to be voted on by the public on 31 May could go down. The people are incensed by what they were promised knowing the coffers were bare and there was nothing in the kitty. They did not have to make any promise. They had the experience of 1977 when Fianna Fáil offered no rates and no taxes on cars. I canvassed for it and I admit it. I was delighted as a young fellow. The people were delighted and gave the party a huge majority. How long did that last? What happened? Look where we are now. Will we ever learn? These are the real political issues.

People want honesty, openness and transparency. The previous Government ran amok establishing quangos. The present Government promised to get rid of them all but instead I can see nothing but an increase in the number of quangos. I do not want to hark back but the Minister for Justice and Equality appointed a quango, the chairman of which was a man who had given him a €1,000 donation during the election before last. What message does this send out to the ordinary people? It puts a sour taste in their mouth.

I want to mention State boards, trade unions and big business organisations such as IBEC. I read a story in today's Irish Independent about some members, former trade union leaders and representatives of IBEC, refusing to give up their generous allowances. This is what happened to this country and what has us where we are. The cosy cartel got together. The trade unions clambered up along, I know they support the Labour Party, and got into cosy partnerships under the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in programmes such as better local government and the national pay agreements which had fancy names such as Towards 2016. They existed only to put people's friends on them, whether they were in trade unions or political or IBEC representatives. They forgot they were representing the ordinary punter on the ground, the same as many people do in here and I can be guilty of it too. They all sat around the high table and shared out the spoils. They made the deals and bought power and industrial peace but at what cost?

They negotiated stupid rates of pay. I am not speaking about the minimum wage or anything like it. I am speaking about the minimum rates they negotiated for their members. I could name electricians and other such people who received €22 an hour during the boom. They received money to get up in the morning and to travel to work. What happened us? We all borrowed money. The problem we have is to untangle but it is very difficult to do so because they have their hands clasped around it. For the life of me I cannot understand why the IMF and the EU have not seen this and broken it. One might say I am straying from the Bill but this is where we need reform. We should not be speaking about gender quotas.

I remember sitting on the Government benches for four years and being attacked about the use of the guillotine. What is happening now? The guillotine is being used on Bills. A total of 70% of Government legislation has been guillotined since the return of this Dáil. It rings hollow with everybody. We were protesting about it when I first came to the Dáil. I thought it was strange but all that has happened is that we have changed seats. Why do we do it? Is it because we do not have enough time to discuss Bills? Is it because the real people running the country are the officials who present the Bills and drive the agenda? I think it is. We do not have a Minister who is strong enough to stand up to official Ireland. We saw how the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, put on a big show over the weekend about high noon or high dawn or an early dawn raid at RTE when he was going to bring two six guns and shoot the 12 of them and banish them. He came back holier than thou and was grand with them. A former Minister sacked the RTE board and more power to him. He is retired now. Why should they not be sacked? There is no accountability.

What happened to the priest was a disgrace. I can say on the record of the House it is not the only incident where RTE, our public service broadcaster which we all want to admire, blackguarded decent people and companies in the country and used illegal tactics-----

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