Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle on his appointment. I do not envy his job, given some of the bickering I have heard today. I have not been in the Dáil long. I hope that, across the divide, we will give everyone an opportunity to speak and not butt in and criticise what they have to say. Every Member of this Dáil is elected by people who went to a ballot box and put their stroke down for these people. I would like to see a Dáil where we are all treated in a fair and equitable manner.

There is an opportunity in this new Dáil for all of us to start working together. As we went around the country, we saw an island of two economies. We have seen people whose children are in a foreign land crying on the doorstep. We have seen people who have problems with unemployment and a rural Ireland that has been forgotten. I welcome the fact that all the main parties have been talking about a Minister for rural affairs over the past few days. However, I urge that power and muscle be put behind that to make sure that rural Ireland gets the lift it needs. I have seen a health system that is in chaos in different parts of Ireland. Let us be honest with the people. It will not be solved tomorrow. The only way it will be solved is for people right across the divide to put their heads together and work together. We must give hope to the people out there who are losing hope and show that things can be changed, because that is the responsibility on our shoulders as newly elected politicians.

As Deputy Ross said earlier, we are not afraid to stand up and be counted.

4 o’clock

I would ask the new Government to make sure that the five pillars required, including agriculture, infrastructure, communications, jobs and enterprise for rural Ireland, are fair and equitable and that there is rural-proofing of all decisions. I know there is a housing crisis in Dublin and around the country but there are solutions to this if we use our heads and do not act in a complicated way. In this country we are great at complicating simple matters. Working together we can solve many problems.

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