Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas agus comhghairdeas leis an Teachta O'Fearghaíl as a bheith tofa arís mar Cheann Comhairle ar an Dáil. Guím go mbeidh téarma maith agus tairbheach aige i rith na Dála seo. I extend my congratulations to the Ceann Comhairle on being elected to the position and wish you every success in your role so you can continue the good and reforming work of the previous Dáil. I also thank my constituents in Meath East for electing me to this Dáil and giving me a mandate to stand here to support the nomination of Deputy Micheál Martin as Taoiseach.

The reality is nobody will be elected today with a majority of votes in this House, as the Constitution requires. It is also the reality that much work will be done, I suspect, over the next few weeks to put a Government together that can command a majority of votes in the House. I want the Taoiseach of the Government to be Deputy Martin. It is not simply a numbers game; it must be about policy and how we achieve the goals that all of us in this House have set out. It is fair to say that all of us want to build more houses and it is fair to say that all of us want to move people off trolleys and into hospital wards. I believe the Fianna Fáil plan, which is realistic and costed as being within available resources, will do that.

This is not to say one party has a monopoly on all the ideas in this House. No party has such a monopoly. I look forward to teasing out issues with parties over the next few weeks to ensure the best and most practical ideas come together. It will take a couple of weeks but that is not to say there is no urgency in this. There is much urgency in dealing with the problems we face in society and they must be tackled. That will require a strong Government, which should be a majority Government, that can command authority and get things done.

Deputy Martin has demonstrated sincerity, self-sacrifice and honesty in his political life over the past number of years, and especially as Leader of the Opposition. His achievements in government have been outlined by my colleagues and they are well recognised. As Leader of the Opposition, he demonstrated humility and a sense of national interest that is often lacking in politics. I am certain that if he is elected Taoiseach, he will put that into practice. We do not need conditional support, as the left has given to Deputy McDonald. We really do not need this process today except that the Constitution requires it to take place, as nobody will have the majority of votes. We need a Taoiseach who will command a majority to get things done and that person to be Deputy Micheál Martin. I hope to be back in a couple of weeks to give the same speech when a Government has been put together that Fianna Fáil can lead.

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