Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and I thank the House for such a warm welcome. The Taoiseach is doing something unique today. He is not only departing with dignity, he is departing at a high point in his career. I can assure the House that longevity itself is not a great achievement but to have achieved longevity while having achieved so much in his latter years is something the Independent Alliance and others in this House ought to recognise. It is no coincidence that the Taoiseach is widely recognised globally and internationally as a great achiever who has done a fantastically noble job for Ireland at tables in Europe and the United States, and maybe it is a reflection on Irish politics that he is not sometimes recognised with such applause by commentators and others in this country.

I have been very critical of the Taoiseach on many occasions, both in and out of Government, but I salute his achievements today, particularly in recent months in regard to Brexit and the global initiatives he has taken.

As was recognised by speakers from the Opposition, the Taoiseach has taken steps of reform that were difficult for him due to the conservative background from which he emerged. Other speakers have eloquently referred to his speech on the publication of the Cloyne report and to the fact that he took up the issue of gay marriage and was a convert to its promotion. In a long political life, it is essential that people adapt to the conditions and it would be wrong not to recognise that many people in this House have changed their minds on issues of that nature. The Taoiseach has done so unapologetically and with conviction. If there were pressures on him on those particular issues, my guess is that they came from the other side to that to which he so readily changed.

He found himself in a bit of jam after the last general election because he ended up with the Independent Alliance in government. It would be wrong not to say that it presented difficulties for him and for us. The first few months in government together were very hard. Some say the reason for that is that there were cultural differences without any culture, although that may not necessarily be the case. There were differences in approach, which did not happen in the Civil War politics that unfortunately still seem to reign today. However, the Taoiseach has been an extremely helpful colleague on difficult matters. He has been the glue which kept the Government together in recent months because he is prepared to compromise and he leaves a legacy of a Government which is not just mature but is now stable. I hope that those who do not recognise that will do so in the coming month.

The final tribute to him is that, whatever the situation has been over the past six years, during which there have been problems, difficulties and legitimate criticisms of Government, Cabinet and the Taoiseach, it is undoubtedly true that the morale of the country is now higher than it was when he took office. As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan rightly said, some people did not benefit from the recovery and that is a fair criticism. Overall, however, the nation is in a better place. Those people who are in a bad place are in a better place than they were when he took office. They are not in a perfect place but they are in a better place. Nobody should fail to recognise that. It is true that some have been advantaged more than others but, generally speaking, the Taoiseach and Deputy Noonan leave this country with a morale and confidence it did not have when they took office.

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