Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will reflect on what happened today. This morning the attention was on the statement which has been issued by 13 Independent Deputies, not all of whom who have been engaged in the talks. Reading the statement, they are looking for two things - that the two parties mentioned treat each other with equal esteem and that some agreement covering three budgets be reached between the two parties, in conjunction with whoever may enter into government with whichever party is able to form a minority Government. I heard the Taoiseach accepting that responsibility, as he has done in the past four or five weeks, to try to establish a Government. Having been partially involved for a period of time with genuine intent, I see no reason to question his motives or the approach made. He at least acknowledged in the response to the Independents that he will continue to try to do this. Unless my ears deceived me, I also heard Deputy Micheál Martin say that he, too, was so willing to step up to the plate, with his party behind him, even though some of the later speeches may have set a slightly different tone. I read between the lines an acknowledgement that in this instance it is more likely that a minority Fine Gael Administration may be formed, but he was willing to enter talks. I agree with his caveat in that regard, that, by and large, it would be better to do it without being in the full glare of the media and without people tweeting or posting comments on Facebook. That is what I heard in this Chamber, but perhaps I am wrong. If I have misread the basic intent of Deputy Micheál Martin, I ask him to interrupt me, but my sense is - the Deputy is nodding his head - that my assessment is not wrong.

To a certain extent, the statements from the Independents are, aside from history, part of the process, given that we have moved on from the requirement for parity of esteem which existed during recent days. To a certain extent, it is moving to the next step.

As Deputy Micheál Martin is involved in the process, I will give him some advice. He is right to address the issue of Irish Water first and remove it from any programme for Government negotiations that may take place in the establishment of a minority Government. I listened to what Deputy Jan O'Sullivan and others said, that holding a referendum on public ownership might be one of the ways of addressing some of the fears about which Deputy Catherine Murphy spoke, that it is about something much wider. I hope it is possible for some sort of agreement on it.

I also have a sense from all sides that there is widespread agreement that if we can form a Government and avoid an election - Deputy Coveney said an election would be a failure on all our parts - we want a greater degree of social equity and justice and a new Government to tackle income inequality and poverty. If there is one outcome of the election, discerning what people were saying, I sense this in the result. Given the statements here, I do not sense that people disagree with it. If some sort of minority Government is formed, let this be at the core. The Green Party's vision is that an ecological and social justice approach go hand in hand.

How we engage in the process and strive to seek such social justice is also important. I am glad we do not have an adversarial Chamber but that there is a bit of a curve in the House. If, as Deputy Micheál Martin said, we are going to reach an historic moment in which we take a minority rather than a majority approach, facing each other and shouting and screaming at each other will not work. If, as Deputy Catherine Murphy said, we are to take the changes we are agreeing in the Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform, it requires that all of us, in opposition and in government, start addressing each other and working with each other in a consensual manner. As just one reflection of what I have heard this afternoon, I quote from Bertolt Brecht's poem "To Posterity":

For we knew only too well:

Even the hatred of squalor

Makes the brow grow stern.

Even anger against injustice

Makes the voice grow harsh. Alas, we

Who wished to lay the foundations of kindness

Could not ourselves be kind.

Let us be slightly kind to each other in the next week, give each other a little space, talk to each other with a little respect. We all have social justice in our hearts and aspirations. Let us try to achieve it through co-operation in whatever evolves during the coming weeks.

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