Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Dáil has failed to agree on the nomination of a Taoiseach. As I informed the House on 10 March last and in accordance with the Constitution, the Government and I will continue to carry out our duties and will do so until a new Government has been appointed.

I might note that since the last sitting of the House, many of the important events to commemorate the Easter Rising of 1916 have taken place. I hope I can speak for everyone in the House when I state these events have been a great success and the promised inclusive, comprehensive and respectful approach clearly has been evident throughout all of the centenary commemorative occasions. If I may, I will take this opportunity to thank all those who were involved in planning and organising the centenary programme, including the Ireland 2016 team, consisting of public servants from a range of Departments and Government agencies, the Defence Forces personnel, the gardaí and those from the other emergency services, as well as all the civilians who gave of their time voluntarily to make this an outstanding success and will do so for the rest of the year. I also thank the many hundreds of thousands of people who have turned out to take part in the events to date and to pay tribute to the men and women who took the first steps towards Irish freedom 100 years ago this month. I make the point that a great deal of understanding and respect for the national flag has been engendered by the presentation by Defence Forces personnel of a Tricolour to each of the 3,200 schools nationwide.

At the last sitting of the House on 22 March, I undertook to work towards establishing a stable and lasting Government. I invited those parties, alliances and Independent Deputies who were willing to accept the responsibility and mandate they received from the electorate and to work towards that objective to enter into structured discussions with the Fine Gael Party. Initially, Deputies Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin of the Green Party and 15 Independent Deputies agreed to take part in that process, which began on Thursday, 24 March. Subsequently, the Green Party decided to withdraw from the meetings, and explained the reasons for so doing, but the 15 Independent Deputies from small parties and alliances have remained engaged throughout. This process has involved more than 50 hours of constructive and worthwhile discussion. I thank all those who participated, who approached these discussions with great commitment and energy and demonstrated their willingness to accept responsibility in moving the country forward. As for many of the positive ideas and proposals that have been put forward during the process, the first draft of a foundation document has been put in place. Separately, I have agreed to invite Deputy Micheál Martin to have a conversation this evening - and I expect Deputy Martin will oblige in that regard - as to how we might have an initial discussion on how to put in place a stable, effective and lasting Government.

Nearly six weeks have passed since the general election and I note that I deliberately took the view that, in the case of those Independent Deputies who stated they had accepted their responsibility to move the country forward, it was important to identify their priorities, concerns and anxieties. I make no apology for having spent considerable time in engaging with, talking to and listening to them and in putting together what we consider are the main issues that are of importance to them. Everyone is aware that we face a range of important challenges, not just here at home, including housing and homelessness, disability and mental health, health issues, education, justice and so on. Everyone understands this and, in many ways, I have learned the importance of areas within these issues that are highly sensitive. In addition, however, we also face external issues such as the possibility of a Brexit, migration, international currency fluctuations, events in the Middle East and Far Eastern countries and so on. These are all important challenges facing the country, and I make the point to Deputy Micheál Martin, whom I have known for many years, that I wish to be as flexible and generous when negotiating as is possible in this regard.

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