Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

A Cheann Comhairle, I join with others in warmly congratulating you on your re-election to the Chair. It is certainly a recognition of the effective manner in which you fulfilled that role over the past four years. The Social Democrats look forward to continuing their constructive and respectful working relationship with you in the Thirty-third Dáil. I will take a moment to welcome and congratulate all 48 new Members of this House and their families. It is a very special and emotional day for them and their families and I hope they enjoy the occasion and will be here long enough to make their efforts worthwhile.

It goes without saying that Deputy Catherine Murphy and I are delighted to be re-elected to this House and very much thank our respective constituents for returning us. We are particularly pleased by and very proud of the fact that the ranks of the Social Democrats have swelled significantly with the addition of four new very competent and able Deputies, of whom we are very proud. We look forward to making a strong contribution to the development and evolution of Irish politics in coming years and will play an active and constructive role in this Dáil, regardless of whether we are in government or in opposition.

The business in hand is the election of a Taoiseach. The Social Democrats will not be supporting any candidate because we believe it is meaningless for us to do so in the absence of a negotiated and agreed programme for Government. We are very clear and have said over the past week that this is not a personality or popularity contest. It has to be about the policies that respond to what the public has said to us in the past week. It is about having an agreed policy platform that will lead to a programme for Government.

On 8 February, the Irish people sent a very clear message to this House. They told us very plainly that they do not like the direction the country has taken in recent years. They were not just saying that things were not happening quickly enough, as Members on these benches have been trying to make out. They said very clearly that they wanted a completely new approach and direction for this country because a country where people in decent jobs cannot afford a decent place to live or where almost 10,000 people are homeless is not a country that works. A country where people must wait for years for a simple hospital procedure or where a parent cannot access basic health services for his or her child and is advised to go private is not a country that works. A country where many people feel they are just living to work, have long commutes and constantly feel they have no time for the things that really matter is not a country that works. People know it does not have to be like this. Most of all, they want a country that is fair where everyone can have a decent quality of life. The old way of doing things has been rejected. The challenge now is to agree the way forward and the urgently needed solutions to the big problems the country faces and to do so in a new programme for Government. After the ceremony of today, I hope this work can get under way quickly.

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