Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think we may need to amend Standing Orders to allow for an additional part to Leaders' Questions where the Deputy and the leader of Fianna Fáil can question each other. To answer the questions the Deputy put to me, the mandate I have comes first from the people in Dublin West, the people who voted for me and allowed me to be a Member of this House, then from my party and then from this Dáil. Every Taoiseach in the history of the State has been elected by the Dáil. That is the system we have in this country. In due course this Government will seek a popular mandate but for the foreseeable future we will focus on getting the business of Government done and improving people's lives.

The Deputy and his party also have a mandate. His party had very successful elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly and it elected seven MPs to Westminster. I would ask the Deputy to consider validating his mandate by doing all that he can to ensure the Northern Ireland Executive is back up and running and the assembly is sitting and to consider using the mandate he has at Westminster to influence the outcome of Brexit. It seems Sinn Féin is very keen on elections. There were elections in Northern Ireland, there were elections for Westminster and the Deputy's party wants elections here as well, but what it does not want is responsibility. It does not want to be in government. I appeal to the Deputy to honour the electoral mandate he has by ensuring his party members take up their positions in the Northern Ireland Assembly and in the Executive.

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