Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I wish to join with colleagues in conveying my own personal deepest sympathies to the family of the late Private Seán Rooney on their devastating loss, and to send my very best wishes to Private Shane Kearney and his family as his battle continues today.

Today's proceedings are an historic occasion in the history of our nation. It is the first time, during a Dáil term, where the Members of the House are being asked to approve the rotation of the Office of An Taoiseach between two parties within Government.

It is symbolic of the diverse political landscape in which we now live and the maturity of the three parties which comprise this Government. That it is being undertaken without either drama or rancour is indicative of the stability and the unity of this Government.

Since coming to office almost two and a half years ago, the Government has been charged with the responsibility of taking the country through a set of extraordinary global challenges: a once-in-a-century pandemic, a terrible war in Europe and a consequential cost-of-living crisis facing our people. We have been deeply fortunate to have been led by a Taoiseach of the calibre of Micheál Martin.

At so many difficult moments in the past couple of years, Micheál Martin's integrity, experience and innate decency have shown through. When it came to work ethic, his commitment was absolute. When the Government he led was faced with major decisions, his guiding principle was to do what was right for the country and for its people, and this was never more evident than during Covid-19. On the international stage, his commitment to multilateral co-operation and finding solutions through dialogue is widely recognised and valued and I know his wife, Mary, Micheál Aodh, Aoibhe, Cillian and all of his siblings and extended family and, indeed, the community from which he comes, are so rightly proud of all that he has achieved as Taoiseach. On behalf of all of my colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and our party members all over the country, and on behalf of so many ordinary members of the public of every political persuasion and of none who respected his approach, I thank Micheál Martin for being an outstanding Taoiseach of this country.

I also wish Deputy Leo Varadkar all the very best as he embarks on his second term as Taoiseach. As leader of the Government, he will have our full support and the support of our coalition partners, the Green Party, as well, as we work collectively to tackle the issues that are most important to the people who we are privileged to served, first and foremost of which is building the homes our people need - social, affordable, cost-rental and private homes. This is a top priority for all of Government and we will leave no stone unturned to make tangible progress over the next two years plus.

Thankfully, the speed and the depth of the recovery of the Irish economy after Covid has surpassed all expectations. Today, we have more people working than at any point in our country's history and an unemployment rate at an historic low. Last September, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and I introduced a budget with €11 billion of new measures, primarily aimed at supporting businesses and supporting households through this exceptionally difficult period of high inflation. We did this while not taking on any additional borrowing as a country, committing €6 billion to a national reserve fund, and projecting a budget surplus this year and next. In addition, over a series of three budgets, we committed record investment in housing, health and childcare, more teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, and historic levels of public capital investment to build more schools, hospitals and better public transport. Every day in this Chamber, we hear more calls for more investment and more spending and this is only possible where we have a strong economy and well-managed public finances. That is why this Government will continue to support business, support jobs and manage the nation's finances with care. As an open economy, we are not immune from the global economic downturn but we are better positioned than most to withstand its effects. While politics in many countries has been beset by the populism of the left and the right, I believe that Ireland has prospered through careful implementation of evidence-based policy.

The principles that underpinned this coalition for the first half of its term - trust, mutual respect, parity of esteem and good personal relationships - will continue in the second half. At a time of such uncertainty and turmoil in the world, Ireland needs a strong and stable Government that works day in and day out for the people of our country. With the support of this House, that is the commitment we make to the Irish people today.

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