Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am please to support the motion that Dáil Éireann nominates Deputy Jack Chambers to the President for appointment as a member of the Government. Is pribhléid domsa tráthnóna inniu an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Chambers, a mholadh mar Aire Airgeadais na tíre. Is fearr cumasach, ábalta, éirimiúil é a bhfuil sárscileanna anailíseacha agus eagrúcháin aige. Tuigeann sé cosmhuintir na tíre agus is polaiteoir éifeachtach den scoth é.

I will begin by acknowledging the work of Deputy Michael McGrath, who has resigned from the Government and whom we have agreed to nominate as a member of the European Commission. When this Government was formed four years ago, we were in the middle of the fastest-moving and deepest recession ever recorded outside of wartime. There was a dramatic increase in unemployment and the world economy was in freefall. Protecting lives and livelihoods was the dominant work at that time. As the Minister responsible for public expenditure, Deputy Michael McGrath faced an enormous challenge, finding ways to fund urgent and unprecedented expansions in public supports at a time of collapsed world trade and economic activity. In a steady partnership with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the leaders of the Government, he helped to ensure that Ireland limited the economic damage of the pandemic and recovered faster and more comprehensively than most countries. As Minister for Finance, he ensured a balanced approach, helping to fund sustainable increases in public services and also encouraging the economic activity essential for job creation and Government revenue. The creation of unprecedented reserve funds will ensure Ireland is in a position to respond to major disruptions and can implement lasting investments in our infrastructure and movement to a more sustainable economy and society. This is a fine record for four years as Minister. It comes on top of two decades as a serious and effective member of this House. Deputy Michael McGrath is highly qualified to serve as EU Commissioner and has demonstrated his capacity for focused and effective work on vital economic issues. I thank him for his service to our party and this Government. I have no doubt the people of Cork South-Central, whom we both have the great privilege to serve, will be proud of his work in the years ahead. I also pay tribute to the outgoing Commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, for her sterling work on behalf of the country.

Deputy Jack Chambers has been a member of this House for eight years and has held ministerial responsibilities for the past four. During this time, he sat at the Cabinet table and at wider Government discussions. Always completely on top of his brief, he is a constructive and focused contributor to deliberations. He is by nature not someone who looks for problems to exploit or to find opportunities to shout and denounce others. He understands that in politics as much as in any walk of life, the emptiest vessels make the most noise. There are those who often seem more interested in having an impact in the media than an impact on solving problems and delivering progress. He is emphatically not someone like that. In every role Deputy Chambers has held as a public representative and as a Minister of State, he has distinguished himself as a committed and tireless servant of the Irish people. As Government Chief Whip during the Covid pandemic, he worked with the Ceann Comhairle and all parties to return as quickly as possible to holding sessions where Ministers could be questioned in depth. He ensured that Government measures were published, debated and enacted as quickly as possible while still receiving due scrutiny. In his more recent role in the Department of Transport, he has visited every part of the country to ensure that urgent projects have proceeded and has met community groups to hear their concerns. Drawing on his academic background in law, politics and medicine, he has been an excellent colleague, always available to give an informed and constructive opinion. While he will be the younger person nominated to serve as Minister for Finance since Éamon de Valera nominated Michael Collins to the post in April 1919, his experience is already well beyond that of many who have held the post in the past. He has wide knowledge of Government, experience in dealing with every Department and is ready to tackle the vital agenda of the Department of Finance without delay.

It is a special day when one is nominated to serve as a member of the Government of a free republic. I congratulate Jack on earning this well-deserved appointment. Of course, no one who has the privilege of serving in Dáil Éireann is here solely because of their own efforts. We all draw on the support of our families and wider supporters. I acknowledge Jack's parents, Frank and Barbara, who always encouraged him in his commitment to public service and have been with him every step of the way. I also acknowledge the tireless work and support of the members of Fianna Fáil in Dublin West, who got behind Jack over a decade ago and have been with him every step of the way since then. In the coming months, he will face a full agenda with budget preparation and the complex legislation that goes with it. Ireland has a strong economy but we have nothing to be complacent about. We have to protect and improve the foundations for good employment, generating the revenues essential to fund a modern, progressive State. The disruptions of the pandemic and a wide range of geopolitical issues including Russia's imperialist aggression against a European state, combined to demand a balanced and sustainable approach to economic and fiscal issues. Together with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, he will work with the rest of the Government to respond to urgent needs and guarantee strategic investments which will benefit all parts of our country. He will focus on helping to reduce the impact of high costs facing families and improving the public services on which they rely. There is still much work to be done during the remainder of this Dáil's mandate. The appointment of Deputy Chambers to serve as Minister for Finance ensures that this critical portfolio will continue to be led with quiet and effective determination.

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