Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Nach iontach ar fad go bhfuil slua mór anseo inniu.

Ba mhaith liom a chur in iúl duit, a Cheann Comhairle, tar éis ghnó na Dála seo, go mbeidh mé ag dul amach go hÁras an Uachtaráin, go dtabharfaidh mé litir ag éirí as an bpost seo chuig an Uachtarán agus go mbeidh sé sin ag dul i bhfeidhm láithreach.

I was hoping that having said that much, I could leave quickly and quietly but the business of the Dáil is such that I no longer have any control over how it is to be conducted. The prospect of making a speech or listening to them, either of glorification or flagellation, is not something that I really relish because this has never been about me. It has always been about the problems and challenges our people and country face. That said, I am very happy to have the opportunity to thank the Ceann Comhairle, his predecessors and all the staff of the House for their assistance and unfailing courtesy not just over the last six years as Taoiseach but over the past 42 years since I have been a Member of the House. It was Teddy Roosevelt who said "Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." I have been truly blessed I have had that chance. I am eternally grateful to the Irish people and particularly the people of Mayo for repeatedly giving me that opportunity. I really believe that politics is work worth doing, a noble profession. Despite the many scandals and disappointments, I believe the vast majority of people elected to this House are here because we have an interest in and love for our communities and country and we wish to make a difference. For me, cynicism is always an easy cop-out. The true measure of worth and courage is to keep trying again and again, knowing that much of that effort will go unrewarded. I understand the people's disillusionment with politics and the political process. I believe that a first step towards overcoming that might be for us as politicians to treat one other with a greater degree of respect. We can argue vehemently the merits of issues or measures without questioning one another's motives or intent. Politics is always about people and government is always about making decisions. For my own part, I am the first to acknowledge I have not got everything right but I can honestly say my motivation was always what I believed was in the best interests of the Irish people.

I thank my colleagues in government for their efforts and support in trying to make an unprecedented and difficult situation work. I also wish to recognise the contributions of the Members opposite, of the Fianna Fáil Party with their leader, Deputy Micheál Martin. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Labour Party for its enormous contribution to the success of the last Government, which under the leadership of Eamon Gilmore and Deputy Joan Burton, with the central involvement of the current leader of the Labour Party, Deputy Brendan Howlin, played a critical role in the rescue of the Irish economy. I thank them all for that. To my party colleagues, I want to say it has been a privilege and a pleasure to have had the opportunity to lead the party for 15 years, and the last six years in government. I wish them all good health to continue the work to overcome and deal with the many challenges that lie ahead.

I passed through Strade recently, which is the birthplace and final resting place of Michael Davitt. To paraphrase what he said in his will to the Irish people, to all my friends I leave kind thoughts, to others I express my fullest forgiveness and to Ireland my undying prayer for absolute freedom and independence, which it has always been my ambition to achieve for her. I hope that in the two Governments I have led, we have made a modest contribution towards that ambition.

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