Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute to all those involved in organising the 1916 centenary celebrations, in particular the celebrations over the Easter weekend. The presentation of the various aspects of the celebrations was splendid. I pay particular tribute to RTE on its coverage of the centenary concert. The presentation was stunning and reflected well on the nation and our maturity and capacity to tolerate diverse views on the Rising. It did it with some style. I also pay tribute to our armed forces, Óglaigh na hÉireann, for the role they played in the Easter parade.

Following the votes, I will now outline Fianna Fáil’s approach to both the formation of a government and the fundamental challenge of reforming our politics.  One of the greatest failings of Irish politics is that the need for change gets quickly diverted and we end up carrying on as before.  This must not be allowed to happen again. The deep loss of trust in the ability of our politics to deliver progress on the issues of most concern to people will not be reversed by slogans and partisan posturing.  We can achieve nothing if all we do is change the form rather than the substance of how our Government and Parliament works. Given the scale of public disillusionment and the mounting crises facing our country, the worst thing we could do would be to keep repeating the practice of the past where the sole focus is on a rapid change of Government members with everything else carrying on regardless.  The priority has been power rather than policy.

From the first day of the count, when the scale of the rejection of the outgoing Government became clear, our position has been entirely consistent.  It is also the same position we outlined before the election and which formed the basis of a mandate we won with the support of more than 500,000 people. Our core position remains consistent with our promise. We want a change of Government, a change of priorities and a change in how politics is carried out. Irrespective of the ongoing clamour of self-appointed spokespeople on behalf of the national interest, we insist on our right and obligation to work to implement our commitments to the people.

Since the election, we have sought and carried out discussions with a range of Deputies elected as Independents and as members of smaller parties.  At the very start of these discussions, we tabled a detailed proposal for the policies which we believe should shape the next Government. Within this, and to avoid the vague generalities too often found in these documents, we identified specific actions which could be taken within six months and twelve months. Our priorities are focused on six specific areas for action. These include making the recovery fairer and ensuring that secure, well-paid jobs are created in all communities as well as urgent action on the housing emergency across all sectors, from home ownership and social housing to private rental. Our proposal for a Minister for housing has now gained broad acceptance across the House, as has our proposal on appointing a Minister for rural affairs. We have been the one party which consistently looked for a Minister for rural affairs. We had one in previous Governments but the outgoing Government got rid of the Ministry. We have consistently pushed for it in our manifesto and it is now gaining widespread acceptance.

See this speech in context