Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise to support the motion of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government. When we assess the contribution and performance of any government, we must look back to what its members said they would do if they were trusted by the people with the reins of office. We said we would repair the public finances and do so without increasing income tax. That has been done and our public finances are now in good order. Not only have we not increased income tax, we actually reduced it in the latest budget. We said we would create 100,000 jobs. We are now up to 80,000 and set to reach our target before the next election, with unemployment having fallen 24 months in a row. We said we would bring about a smaller and more efficient public sector, and that has been done. We said we would bring about fair care.

The first steps towards universal health care will be taken with the extension next year of GP care without fees to those over 70 and those under six, the oldest and youngest in society.

We stated that we would bring about a new politics. We do not always tell the story in respect of this matter very well and, before she left, Deputy McDonald asked us to provide examples of what we have done. I will provide three simple examples, namely: the ban on corporate donations, which has at long last ended the link between money and politics; the introduction of gender quotas for candidates, which will give people the choice to vote for women candidates in big numbers at the next election; and, very importantly, long overdue legislation to regulate lobbying and protect whistleblowers. These are just three examples but I could provide more.

Getting here has been very tough and the Irish people have made enormous sacrifices to bring the country to the position in which it now finds itself. That position is much better than the one the country occupied three and a half years ago. Once again, the future for Ireland is bright. We can look forward to a growing economy and increasing employment. A growing economy is not just for the sake of it. The reason we need the economy to grow is in order that we can put more money back into people's pockets and find the resources to invest in improving public services. We are only getting started and neither the future nor the economy are secure. We can fall backwards and there are risks. I, for one, do not want to take those risks by handing over control of the country to the parties opposite. A clear division is emerging in the House, with the Government parties on one side and a potential Opposition led by Sinn Féin, and including Fianna Fáil and perhaps some Independents, on the other. It is a division between those who saved Ireland from bankruptcy and those who either brought us to the brink of it or who would return us to that point. It is a division between those who would cut taxes in order to create employment and support enterprise and those who would raise taxes, destroy jobs and drive investment, business and professionals overseas. It is a division between those on this side of the House who respect the law, the Garda and stand up for law and order and those on the other side who engage in violent protest and intimidation and who traffic child abusers throughout the country.

Having outlined the position in respect of the Government, I now wish to turn to the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, in whom we are also being asked to vote confidence. When the history of the 21st century is written, the Taoiseach will be recognised for his leadership and for steering this country through the perilous waters of financial disaster left behind after years of mismanagement on the part of successive Fianna Fáil Governments. He is the pilot who weathered the storm. He did so by leading a coalition Government in making some of the most difficult decisions ever made in the history of the State. What he has done has not always been popular but good leadership does not always bring easy popularity. As the Taoiseach stated, our work is not yet done. We will continue to do the job of bringing prosperity back to the Irish people. Instead of trying to work with us for the good of the country, Sinn Féin and the parties opposite prefer to create ways to foment a storm of controversy. By doing so, they sacrifice good leadership for cheap political gain. If they were in charge, such an approach would wreck the country.

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