Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Here we are again. Eight months after a Fianna Fáil motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, the party is at it again, this time with a different Minister in its sights, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter. Fianna Fáil knows full well this is another charade designed to get the party the media coverage it so longs for since the good old days of being in government. It must be part of the programme of recovery for Fianna Fáil. I wonder who will be next. Will the party wait so long the next time? This carry-on ignores the fact it is wasting valuable time. Fianna Fáil claims to be reflecting the public mood while it points out its lack of support for the Minister's actions and policies and claims he has made huge errors of judgement. What I hear from the public, however, is that people are in no mood for grandstanding, posturing or unsupported allegations-made by anybody in this House. They can see through this time wasting exercise.

The proposers of this motion tonight have no confidence in the Minister, Deputy Shatter. They do not believe they can rely on him,trust him to do his job or tell us the truth. All I can say to that is - they do not know him very well. Since the day he took office he has worked tirelessly on his ministerial responsibilities. Having been in opposition for so long, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and what he needed to do for the people of this country. He is a reforming Minister. His prodigious output of work includes the enactment of 14 pieces of legislation, with three Bills currently progressing through the Oireachtas and a further five at advanced stages of drafting. One of the most memorable nights in this Chamber came about as a result of the Minister's work with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, on the Magdalen Laundries issue. This resulted in a State apology and the establishment of a fund for the benefit of the women concerned.

In spite of efforts to paint a picture of a Minister who has his face set against the Garda Síochána, the fact is this Minister is the champion of the force, having successfully negotiated additional funding on its behalf, securing to date a total of €415 million more than the sum contained in the Fianna Fáil national recovery plan. Garda numbers are also currently higher than they would have been if that plan had been implemented. As part of Defence Forces reform, the Minister has initiated the preparation of a Green Paper on defence, which will be published soon.

Upon taking office the Minister, Deputy Shatter, discovered a backlog of 22,000 applications for citizenship, some of which had been awaiting decision for in excess of three years. Most of these have now been dealt with and the persons in question have attended the formal citizenship ceremonies which were initiated by the Minister in 2011. I also mention the Minister's work on the personal insolvency service and on prison form. I have full confidence in the ability of the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to carry out his duties truthfully and with diligence and integrity, and I heartily reject this motion of no confidence.

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