Dáil debates

Thursday, 23 January 2025

Taoiseach a Ainmniú (Atógáil) - Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed)

 

2:55 am

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fine Gael will be supporting the nomination of Deputy Micheál Martin as Taoiseach. I will begin with some words of sincere congratulations to Deputy Martin as he returns to the office of Taoiseach. I know it is really special day for you Micheál, and for Mary, Micheál Aodh, Aoibhe and Cillian, for your siblings, your wider family and for your team, and all the people behind you who worked so hard to ensure you were elected to this House, just like all of us in this House can relate to. I know it is especially significant for you, your family and your team given the circumstances on the previous occasion of your election as Taoiseach when the Covid restrictions kept you from experiencing this great honour here together in this Chamber as you do today.

I have seen up close the trademark way in which you go about your business, as health minister when our two parties were in confidence and supply, as Minister for further and higher education in a Department that was your concept, and more recently when working together as Taoiseach and Tánaiste in, let us call it, quite an intense political period. It is fair to say that I could sense you were somewhat nurturing a mild desire to be Taoiseach again and I sincerely want to congratulate you on that achievement. I wish you well as we work together in partnership. Seriously, I know and acknowledge your wish to be in office is for all the right reasons and that you will again bring to the office of Taoiseach your dedication to public service, the benefit of your long experience in government, and your personal qualities of being simply a very good and decent person.

We have worked together and we have had intensive comprehensive engagement and negotiation to agree a programme for Government between my party, Fine Gael and your party, Fianna Fáil, and a number of Independents. It is a plan for Ireland for the next five years. I am confident it is the right prescription for our country going forward. It is an ambitious plan to drive our country forward but it is also a plan to keep our country safe and secure. The Fine Gael Party is looking forward to playing our part in the new Government in a spirit of partnership, mutual respect and shared objectives. There is much work to do and we are eager to hit the ground running. For my own part I am excited to play a leadership role as Tánaiste in the first half of the Government and I pledge to work relentlessly on delivering the programme for Government in the interests of the people. I look forward to nominating Fine Gael colleagues to join that Government later, and to working with all colleagues in government - Ministers of State, TDs, Senators and people right across this House - as we work together for the people of Ireland.

I will speak at greater length later on when the Dáil reconvenes but I would like to briefly reflect on the visions and values underpinning the new Government, which will be formed today. There is a context to the formation of every Government. For example, the last Government in 2020 was undoubtedly formed in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the previous one in 2016 faced a combination of an Irish economic recovery, a looming Brexit and a very fragmented election result.

On this occasion, there is no doubt the context is one of global geopolitical change and the very real challenge that presents. In this context and at a time when incumbent governments are losing power around the world, the Irish people delivered a mandate for stability and sensible leadership. Of course, there is a great need to make progress on our own domestic challenges, particularly in the areas of housing, health and disability. There is good reason, as my own party enters an historic fourth consecutive term of government, to believe that we can deliver both that essential progress and the protection of our economy in the face of potentially harsh headwinds. We in Fine Gael have worked in successive partnership Governments with the Labour Party, Independents, the Green Party and Fianna Fáil to deliver for our country even in times of emergency. Looking towards the next five years, these are the qualities that must characterise the next Government because for the Irish people, the challenges I just mentioned, particularly in housing and disability, are nothing short of emergencies and they want to see a Government meet them with the mantra "delivery, delivery, delivery".

While it is clear that a period of some economic instability may lie ahead, our public finances are in a position to ensure we can make key progress on increasing infrastructure delivery and improving public services. In particular, we can bring a new energy to the delivery of the infrastructure – water, energy, transport and housing – needed to support the development of our country and societies.

When it comes to disability and special education, there is no point pretending that we are anywhere close to where we need to be. I have many times acknowledged that this is an area where successive Governments have not made sufficient progress but I believe we enter the new Government with the message of the people ringing in our ears that there must be a step change here. The commitments we have agreed in the programme for Government, together with the restructuring and reprioritising of relevant Departments, which will be clear later, will result in a serious focus of resources on making improvements in disability services. I can guarantee that this is an area that Deputy Martin and I will both champion from the top.

For my own part, I am looking forward with confidence, optimism and energy to delivering five budgets together-----

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