Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion of confidence in the Government. It is a minority Government, a type of government which the State has not experienced previously and one which will form part of the political landscape. It is one which operates with a different modus operandi, which is something not well understood by those who criticise it or those who write commentary about it. The result of the motion will have far-reaching consequences, much more so than the mere removal of a Government.

Tonight we reach a critical juncture as an Oireachtas and as representatives of our people. While public confidence in our most fundamental institution, the Garda, and in State agencies has been tested to its limits, we have an obligation as a collective and as an Oireachtas to begin the task of re-establishing confidence in the pillars of our society. Voting confidence in the Government is the starting point on that journey. My Government colleagues have outlined in detail the process that will follow. The establishment of a tribunal of inquiry that is effective and efficient will give the McCabe family the opportunity to move beyond this ordeal and move forward with their lives.

I wish to reflect on the contribution of the Members who have committed themselves to ensuring this new type of Government can succeed.

In an age when naked populism seeks to dismantle western society as we know it, I am encouraged that there are those in this House, in the main on these benches and in Fianna Fáil, who can resist these forces and stand for something better. When I look at the critics of this Government, I see a mirror image of what has happened in America, of the shrill voices of Brexit and with le Pen in France.

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