Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To repeat what Deputy Catherine Murphy said, it is a distortion of the democratic process, and it must change, because we are not going to put up with it. I want to make that absolutely clear.

In the two or three minutes I have, I wish to dispel a few misconceptions. First, it is well known that we had the option of being part of this Government. We were approached and offered half the positions, half the spoils of government, by Fine Gael. Honouring our election promise, we did not avail of that. We did not take up that offer because we had committed not to do so. However, we also committed to campaigning to replace the outgoing Government. We tried assiduously to establish a minority Fianna Fáil Government headed by Deputy Micheál Martin. Unfortunately, we failed to do so. We did not have the numbers, but that does not mean we did not try. We tried, in keeping with our election promise.

We were presented then with a stark choice - to either support an arrangement such as the one we have, or have another election. I do not know about other people, but I do not fear another election. My canvassers are suffering withdrawal symptoms at the moment, so I do not care if there is another election. However, from talking to people from one end of the constituency to the other, and to people I meet in Dublin, I have concluded that the people of this country do not want another election. Consequently, how does one serve the public interest? How does one honour the public will? It is by trying to avoid another election, which we have worked tirelessly to do. But make no mistake about it - we are not part of the Government. When the Tallaght strategy was in place in the late 1980s, nobody imagined that Fine Gael was part of the Government. It simply supported the Government on certain issues from outside. That is precisely the position we intend to adopt.

We are the lead party in the Opposition. Make no mistake about that. Other people in this House can keep telling themselves that they are the lead party in Opposition. Sinn Féin is good at telling itself things, but its members are the only people who believe themselves.

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