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

B'áil liom cead a chur in iúl, mar eolas don Dáil, gur chuir mé m'ainmniú mar Thaoiseach in iúl don Uachtarán agus gur cheap sé mé dá réir.

I beg leave to announce, for the information of the Dáil, that I have informed the President that the Dáil has nominated me to be the Taoiseach and that he has appointed me accordingly.

The comprehensive programme for Government contains a significant number of matters which will require the assignment of responsibilities and the creation of new functions. In addition, there is a series of changes to co-ordination within Government which I will be implementing in the Department of the Taoiseach. I will give more detail concerning these changes in my comments following the formal nomination of members of the Government.

Tairigim:

Go gcomhaontóidh Dáil Éireann leis an Taoiseach d'ainmniú na dTeachtaí seo a leanas chun a gceaptha ag an Uachtarán mar chomhaltaí den Rialtas:

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approve the nomination by the Taoiseach of the following Deputies for appointment by the President to be members of the Government:

- Deputy Simon Harris as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence.

- Deputy Paschal Donohoe as Minister for Finance.

- Deputy Jack Chambers as Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

- Deputy Helen McEntee as Minister for Education and Youth.

- Deputy Darragh O'Brien as Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport.

- Deputy Norma Foley as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality.

- Deputy Peter Burke as Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.

- Deputy Dara Calleary as Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht.

- Deputy Patrick O'Donovan as Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport.

- Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill as Minister for Health.

- Deputy James Browne as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

- Deputy Jim O'Callaghan as Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

- Deputy Martin Heydon as Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine.

- Deputy James Lawless as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

- Rossa Fanning SC as Attorney General to the Government.

- Deputy Mary Butler as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State attending Cabinet with responsibility for mental health.

- Deputy Hildegarde Naughton as Minister of State attending Cabinet with responsibility for disability.

- Deputy Noel Grealish as Minister of State attending Cabinet with responsibility for food promotion, new markets, research and development.

- Deputy Seán Canney as Minister of State attending Cabinet with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports.

In addition, in the coming days I will take steps to propose further Deputies to serve as Ministers of State covering an expanded range of responsibilities in order to fully address the priorities set out in the programme for Government.

The legislation required to give effect to this will be introduced without delay.

The Government that I am nominating today is a Government that will work every day to protect Ireland’s strength at this moment of real threat, and it will also take sustained action to address critical social needs. Each member of the new Government will have responsibility for a distinct programme of action but each will also be required to actively contribute to the Government’s core priorities. A whole-of-government approach, taking key issues out of departmental silos and delivering action on multiple fronts at once, will be a defining characteristic of the Government’s work. In a number of priority areas, a series of new co-ordination mechanisms will be put in place that will be led from the Taoiseach’s office.

We can all see that there is growing turbulence in the world and there are very real threats to institutions that are fundamentally important for Ireland. A core priority for the Government will be to protect and strengthen Ireland’s position within the European Union and in wider international fora. As a fundamental part of this, we must protect the trade which is vital to our economy and the institutions which are vital to promoting our values. We will join with others in seeking to strengthen the EU, complete essential economic reforms within the Union and insist on its democratic values.

We will also seek to accelerate the opening of new markets and expand the opportunities for Irish companies to prosper through trade. We will further emphasise the importance of trade to our international diplomacy. In order to underpin this, the trade function will transfer to the newly renamed Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which will be led by the new Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris.

Next year, we will assume the rotating Presidency of the Council. We will use our Presidency to promote a positive agenda of concrete actions across a range of social, economic, political and environmental fields. It will be a Presidency defined by action.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Europe will be assigned to both the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He will play a central role in planning for the Presidency and also implementing a range of permanent measures that will deepen the contacts between Ireland and our fellow member states.

Everyone who believes in the cause of peace and basic values must hope that the ceasefire in Gaza holds and that we can quickly move to a massive programme of humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Gaza is, however, one part of a wider and deeply troubling development where civilians are increasingly targeted in conflicts, and the impacts are escalating. We can see it in Russia’s savage war against Ukraine, in the decade of atrocities committed by the Assad regime and Russia in Syria and in Sudan. In our aid programme and in our work globally, this Government will be a leading voice in building alliances to challenge this appalling drift in recent conflicts and wars.

The development of a new relationship with the United Kingdom is also a vital part of our work. We will begin holding regular, formal summits to promote active co-ordination. Each Minister will be tasked with building bilateral relations to replace those that were once a routine part of shared membership of the European Union.

Moving forward, the work of building a lasting peace and reconciliation on our island will continue to be led by me through the shared island initiative. The unit co-ordinating the initiative will be strengthened and we will implement a major expansion in the actions covered by the initiative. We will seek to work closely and constructively with the democratic representatives of the people of Northern Ireland, and aiding the effective working of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement will form part of the work of every member of the new Government.

A strong economy that supports high employment and funds public services must never be taken for granted. Ireland has succeeded in the past because we have kept evolving and we have understood that we must work to shape our economy’s direction and capacity. We will retain strong public finances, including the provision of reserve funds that can protect investment programmes and protect services in tougher times, but we will also deliver a comprehensive programme of investment in both services and infrastructure.

In order to ensure that we deliver major projects efficiently, cost-effectively and faster, the structure and operation of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform will be significantly reformed and strengthened. A new infrastructure division will be established and headed by an official at deputy Secretary General level. The unit, together with its Ministers, will have responsibility to remove unreasonable roadblocks to essential projects, strengthening expert oversight and ensuring that investment programmes are implemented without delay.

The new Government will also work to support Irish businesses, not only to find new markets but also to reduce costs. A roadmap for long-term stability and growth for small and medium-sized industry is an early priority which will include extensive research and consultation. As part of this, and recognising the importance of tourism to much of our economy, the tourism function is being transferred to the Department of enterprise.

The Minister for higher and further education and research will lead an effort to ensure that we maximise the economic impact of the investment we make in those sectors. We will ensure that we secure their financial foundations and implement measures to systematically consider the science and research dimensions of Government initiatives. We will plan and work on a major new initiative in the research field.

Education will be as important to shaping our future as it has been in shaping our past. We will move forward with a programme of modernisation and reform that will go hand in hand with increased resources that go directly to classrooms in every community in our country.

I am determined that this will be a Government that step-changes the level and scale of support for people with disabilities and their families. Existing approaches will not achieve the breakthroughs we need and it is time to move beyond them. Disability will be represented at Cabinet by a full Minister for the first time in our history. The Minister will have responsibility for many services and will lead cross-government action. This will include a new model of delivery for vital therapies. In order to reinforce this work, a new disability unit will be established in my Department.

I am determined that we will begin a new era of community development. In rural, provincial and urban areas, many challenges can only be met if we bring together all relevant agencies, work with the communities and develop interventions targeted specifically at each community’s distinct needs. The Minister for Social Protection will lead this work but all Departments will contribute.

Ensuring the safety of our communities, the ability to walk the streets or to be in your own home without fear is a fundamental responsibility of Government. We need to improve the level and impact of community policing, and we need to address new forms of behaviour which are causing great damage. The Department of Justice will be significantly reformed to make sure that it is focused on our programme of action. In addition, we will address the fact that Government activity on migration is too dispersed and requires more direct leadership. A new division of the Department of Justice will take responsibility for the control of our borders, management of immigration and co-ordination of integration. This will be headed by a Secretary General with a distinct budget and more direct oversight.

We understand the enormous pressures and difficult circumstances of many of our citizens who cannot find a secure home to buy or rent. Accelerating the number of homes available and delivering direct support to people is critical to our work. We will ramp up investment in the required infrastructure and I will shortly announce details of a new co-ordination and implementation group that will operate from my Department.

Rural communities and the agrifood sector remain a vital part of our social, economic and cultural life. We will work to deliver a sustainable and prosperous future for them. Recognising the importance of fishing and the marine, I will appoint a dedicated Minister of State to lead investment in this sector.

The achievement of climate and biodiversity goals is not just a challenge for this Government and Dáil; it is the defining challenge of our age. The scale of investment we need to transform to a green economy means that we must step-change investment, both public and private. Based on an approach that has been successful in financial services, I will establish a new climate investment clearing house that will initially focus on energy transformation.

Both during the pandemic and in the years since, we have shown that reform and progress are possible in health.

The full benefits of major reforms, such as the new consultant contract and service development, will only be fully felt in the next few years. However, we have to also look for ways to transform how we run our health services, not just administratively but, more importantly, in how we treat individual patients. A programme of health digitalisation is central to this transformation. Its implementation is a priority for us and work will begin without delay.

Each member of the new Government will have clear responsibilities for delivering on the ambitious programme we have set out. It will be an outward-looking Government, one which is focused on protecting our economy and delivering sustained progress in housing and education, in helping communities, in transforming services for people with disabilities and in many other areas.

Our country has shown time and again just how much it can achieve. In building one of the longest continuous democracies in the world, we have overcome many great challenges. I have great faith in our strengths and I have no doubt that we can, working together with a positive agenda of change, move our country forward together.

See this speech in context