Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann, noting that it is now more than four years since the last general election:

deploring the many failures of the current Government including:

— the failure to deal with rising crime rates, the lower detection rates and the continuing unacceptable level of crime, ranging from gun murders to vandalism and anti-social behaviour;

— the failure to adequately protect the children of the nation by its incompetent, disjointed and ill-judged response to the issues raised by the Supreme Court judgment in the CC case;

— the failure to ensure value for taxpayers' money and the shocking waste of public money on such ill-judged and mismanaged projects as electronic voting and PPARS, a health sector computer project which ran dramatically over budget without delivering an effective payroll system;

— the failure to deal with the crisis in accident and emergency units and to clear all hospital waiting lists within two years, as promised in May 2002;

— the failure to deliver affordable child care for hard-working families;

— the failure to provide adequate school buildings in developing areas; the increase in the number of children in classes of 30 or more; and the reneging on the commitment to reduce class sizes for children under nine to below international best practice of 20:1;

— the failure to honour the commitment that 80% of all taxpayers would pay at the standard rate; the delay in closing off loopholes that allow a number of super-rich individuals to avoid paying their fair share of taxation; and the reliance instead on more than 50 stealth taxes;

— the failure to deal with rising prices which has now resulted in an annual inflation rate of almost 4%;

— the failure to deliver the required level of broadband roll-out to meet private and commercial needs;

— the failure to deal with escalating house prices which have increased at nine times the rate of inflation since 1997 or to deliver the required level of social and affordable housing;

— the failure of the Government to deliver an adequate strategy for road safety, particularly in regard to the implementation of the penalty points system;

— the failure to ensure that the benefits of economic growth were shared out fairly, as a result of which, according to Central Statistics Office figures published this week, 21% of the population are at risk of poverty; and

— the failure to halt the decline in the numbers engaged in farming and the continuing low level of income for many farm families;

— censures the Government for its many failures;

— believes that this arrogant, tired and fractured Administration has lost initiative and coherence and has descended into aimless drift; and

— concludes that the interests of the country and people would therefore best be served by the dissolution of the 29th Dáil and the holding of an early general election.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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This Labour Party Private Members' motion is the last of the Dáil term and the last of the parliamentary year in which the Dáil met for 95 days, 55 days fewer than our neighbouring Parliament at Westminster. It has been the hallmark of this Taoiseach to contrive as few sitting days as the Government can get away with. No Ministers are more anxious to see the shutdown of the Dáil than the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who, for all their high-minded pledges on this side of the House, readily acquiesce now in the abridged Dáil year.

I am pleased to share my time with Deputy Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, and to share sponsorship of this motion with Fine Gael. The substance of the motion deserves the support of other parties in Opposition and of Independent Members. If Fianna Fáil backbenchers were genuine about this Government having lost its way, they too would support our motion.

This motion focuses on the issues that have caused such upset to the Government backbenchers. It is the neglect and mishandling by the Government of these same issues that has caused such electoral panic to rage on the Government backbenches.

We have tabled this motion because we believe this to be an arrogant, tired and fractured Administration. It has lost initiative and coherence and has descended into aimless drift. It is out of touch and out of time. Although it may seek to linger for another year, like a crowd outside a closing pub who cannot go anywhere else, the country will be ill-served by that year.

It will be ill-served and significantly damaged by a Government whose record is one of using the public purse to buy votes. Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are prepared to put our economic prosperity at risk to stay in power. They did it in 2001 and 2002. The fragilities in the economy are now more serious. The property spiral alone threatens to undermine a delicately balanced economy. A repeat of the reckless conduct coming up to the 2002 general election could be disastrous for the country and its people. An early general election would avoid that danger.

With Deputy Kenny, I believe that our country would be far better served by a general election and the return of an alternative Government, with a fresh mandate and the drive to bring about change. It would not just be a different Government, but a better Government. It would be a Government in touch with the needs of the people who get up at 6 a.m. to go to work or care for others. It would be a Government that would address the crisis in our hospitals and put gardaí working in the community, responsive to the community, and committed to the community. It would invest in families and children, and tackle the growing divide in society. In short, it would be a Government that would drive the changes that would make tomorrow better than today for hard-working families.

The people cannot afford another year of arrogance and drift, and the Exchequer cannot afford another bout of Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats vote buying. This motion lists a succession of Government misjudgments and disasters. Unfortunately, they are but a sample from a much longer list of failings. There are some common threads running through the selected issues.

There is a thread of arrogance and disconnection from the lives of real people, which saw €162 million lost on the PPARS system in the Department of Health and Children. That level of loss was described by a Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, as being "relatively very very small". To the people who get up at 6 a.m. to go to work and care for others, €162 million of their money is most certainly not small.

There is a thread of Progressive Democrat ideology, which afflicts more than half the Cabinet, and insists on doing irreparable damage to the health service by making it investor-led rather than patient-led. There is a thread of myopic conservatism which refuses to see the opportunities our new wealth brings us and insists on muddling along with old ways and in old mindsets.

It was once said of Seán Lemass that he told the people to mount their camels and their asses and he would lead them to the promised land. It was said of Jack Lynch that he told them to light a Camel and sit down on their asses because this was the promised land. It was said of Charles Haughey that he was raising the price of camels, kicking their asses and mortgaging the promised land.

The present Taoiseach has convinced himself that he, personally, has brought his people to the promised land, and that our duty is to thank him for it in perpetuity. The most recent example of this was last Wednesday when he finally intervened to reply to arguments raised by Deputy McManus on behalf of a small group of people infected by blood products supplied by a State body. The Taoiseach restricted his reply to complaining about the length of time he is detained in the Dáil.

The truth is the Taoiseach was the fortunate inheritor of an economy on the cusp of a boom. For all his incessant campaigning, he is strangely disconnected from the reality of most peoples' lives and whose ingratitude to himself he finds so disconcerting. Self-praise is no praise, but self-congratulation is positively dangerous, and this Government has succumbed to that delusional state.

In his daily 65 seconds on the airwaves, the Taoiseach yesterday criticised our motion for being what he termed as "badly drafted". By this, he apparently means that there is nothing there to praise the Government. He runs a Government which has quite simply failed to stay in touch with the realities of a country and a people that have changed beyond all recognition. Rather than address what those changes mean and respond to them, the Government has contented itself with being a cheerleader for its members. One can almost imagine pom-poms being handed out at Cabinet meetings.

I have just done an interview with the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue. He stated that a report came out today praising the initiative for electronic voting. There is no point in trying to argue with a man who states that black is white. We know the reality. The commission was chaired by a High Court judge and is comprised of eminent persons. Nothing more symbolises the waste, failure, arrogance and remoteness of this Government than the electronic voting debacle.

The promised land is a land of broken promises. In reality, the promised land is a place where most families, no matter how hard they work, struggle to get by. In the real Ireland, the promised land is a place where basic things do not function, and where a camel might well come in handy to get through the queue for the toll bridge in the morning.

This is a Government whose reference point, for every answer from the Taoiseach, is 1997. It is a Government now ten years out of date. This country is different now, and its people's expectations are different. There is a generation of people for whom 1997 might as well be 1897. They are right to think that way. Prosperity has wrought change, and we live in an Ireland that is more confident in its abilities. What it has not seen is confident or able Government. New stresses and strains have been thrown up by our new society to which the Government seems patently incapable of responding.

Our public services seem to be run on the assumption that prosperity is an aberration, rather than the norm. The public sector has been encouraged to run itself as a slightly adjusted, but essentially unchanged, version of its pre-Celtic tiger self. The old processes, the old mind sets and the old boundaries to attainment are still in place. To the self-confident, able and can-do Ireland, that simply is not good enough any more. The trail of wasted public money, and the incapacity of public services to respond to new needs, sits ill with a people who have proven their abilities on any stage one cares to name. It is also a source of endless frustration to the talented and dedicated public servants, who are ready to embrace change and who want to provide world-class public services.

The task of the next Government is to reform and renew the role of Government itself. We need public services that meet modern needs and aspirations. Our economy needs investment in the infrastructures and services demanded by the global knowledge-led market place. Our society needs a commitment to public service and public services that will restore and augment the public realm — that place in our lives where we meet each other as equal citizens. We will only achieve those things when we shift out of old mind sets, and adjust ourselves to the requirements and the possibilities of a prosperous country.

That is why Labour and Fine Gael have set out an ambitious agenda for public sector reform. In "The Buck Stops Here", we have outlined a series of proposals to address the problem of ministerially-driven wasteful spending, of which the e-voting fiasco is only one emblem. However, we go beyond that, setting out a reform agenda which will deliver, not just better value for money but better services.

Some of those changes will be difficult. They will require negotiated change in the public service, not least in opening up recruitment in senior grades, but they will be led by a Government with a strong commitment to public service and public services and with the ambition and vision to make the most of the opportunities our new wealth has brought us.

What we will not do is engage in the wanton destruction of the public service, in the form of the mindless decentralisation programme, driven only by short-term electoral panic. Negotiated planned decentralisation can and will make a contribution to balanced regional development. We will not make demands on others that we are not prepared to make on ourselves. We will develop and codify new structures of responsibility in the public service, but we will begin with applying the principle of accountability to ourselves. We will not hide from public scrutiny as the present Government so regularly does.

This Government has avoided such responsibility and scrutiny on every occasion. The Minister, Deputy Martin's absence without leave from the Department of Health and Children during the PPARS and nursing home debacles is only two examples; the Ministers' — Deputies Noel Dempsey and Cullen — feckless disregard for taxpayers' money thrown away on electronic voting is another. That each remains in Cabinet is a testimony to the contempt in which this Government holds the people who elected it.

They seem to hold each other in a fair bit of contempt also, particularly where the two Progressive Democrats Ministers are concerned.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Look at them over there now.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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It is clear that the Government is fractured and factional. Its eye is anywhere but on the ball, and disasters like the statutory rape crisis drive it ever further into its mental bunker. As it wanders aimlessly towards the general election, we will see more of this disconnection from the real needs of families and communities.

We may well also see a concerted effort to buy the election. Before the general election of 2002, public expenditure in Ireland was increased by 21% per annum. Money was thrown at anything that might yield up a few votes and any consideration of getting value for money was abandoned. The Exchequer was, for 18 months, turned into a Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats war chest. For all the talk of the McCreevy/Progressive Democrats wing of the Government, when it came to trying to buy the election, fiscal responsibility was abandoned.

As soon as the election was over, engines were reversed. Far from delivering on expensive promises, we entered into a period of cuts, curtailment and stealth taxes increases. Increases in more than 50 stealth taxes have been imposed since 2002, most of them in the immediate aftermath of the 2002 election, and all to pay for the attempt to buy votes.

We all know how it will be done. We know that cheques will fall on to mats a few weeks before the election. We know that they will be accompanied by glossy information leaflets, designed and paid for by the taxpayer, featuring the relevant Minister as prominently as possible. We know how money will be spent and how announcements will be made of more money to follow. There will be three-year plans, with phase one this year, and phases two and three if one votes them back in. We know phases two and three never happen. This is precisely what went on in 2001 and 2002.

The Irish economy simply cannot afford a repeat of that exercise. With inflation at 4%, approximately twice the target of the European Central Bank, the Irish economy can ill afford another inflationary splurge. What the Government ignored in 2001 and 2002, and what it will ignore again if it can, is the discipline inherent in monetary union.

That kind of splurge will work its way out of the Irish economy, in the form of inflation, falling competitiveness and job losses. Whatever short-term gains voters will enjoy, will be clawed back through higher stealth taxes after the election. There is every risk of damage being done to our economy in the dying days of this Government. The economy does not need another dose of this type of politics. What it needs is a sustained and sustainable commitment to using the additional resources being generated to make incremental improvements in quality public services.

Taxes are down and will stay down. Labour will not increase taxes. What we will do is use the revenues being generated for the Exchequer in a manner that addresses the needs of hard-working families. We will invest in and reform health care, tackling the crisis in accident and emergency services and dealing with the underlying problems in the health service that create it. We will: provide more beds, ensure the hospitals are cleaned, keep care as local as we can, tackle waste, and keep health as a community service, not give away vital health service sites to private investors. We will tackle crime, by a radical overhaul of policing to put gardaí, who are committed to communities, into communities and make them responsive to communities.

We will invest in families and children, by developing a new system of child care that puts children first and respects the rights and wishes of parents. We will build that system around the five pillars of affordability, time for parents, quality assured child care, more places and one year's free pre-school education. We will tackle the problems of deprivation that are clustered in so many parts of urban Ireland. Like the fuse box in a house, these are the areas where every wire and strand of inequality and disadvantage come together. These are the same areas where so much was promised in advance of the last general election, and where the door was slammed in peoples' faces as soon as the coalition was safely back in office. We will tackle disadvantage and poverty, through reforming the social welfare system, eliminating poverty traps, and building the welfare system into a springboard of opportunity rather than an inadequate safety net.

The alternative Government will simply not tolerate that in today's Ireland one in every seven children lives in poverty. I want every child to grow up in a community that is secure, in an area of which he or she can be proud. I want every child to have a place to play, and a warm place to do homework. I want all children to go to a school which gives them the attention they deserve, and which prepares them for the opportunities of modern life. It is only through education, innovation and training, upskilling and retraining that we will lay down the basis for a high-tech economy and extend opportunity to all our people, including those losing their jobs to cheaper locations. There is much to be proud of in our education system but there are also real problems. At primary level, we want to unshackle school principals and give them the budgets they need to be real educational leaders rather than harassed administrators and to make Irish primary schools places of nurturing and learning.

It is an appropriate occasion at the end of the term to assess the Government's performance, which, by any standards, has been lamentable, especially over the past year. If Fianna Fáil backbenchers are serious about their revulsion at the policies being pursued, they should support our motion tomorrow night.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Labour Party for tabling this joint motion and I thank Deputy Rabbitte for sharing time.

The Taoiseach is not present, though he will speak later. His comment yesterday that the Opposition would suffer a heart attack if he called a general election indicated he is confused, and confusion is one of the symptoms of heart failure. I looked up a number of medical journals earlier and other symptoms include memory loss, a feeling of being sick to the stomach, pressure and palpitations, tiredness and fatigue, anxiety and restlessness and impaired thinking. These are the symptoms of the Government Members rather than the Opposition and, therefore, the likely candidates for heart failure are on the Government benches.

In addition, the Taoiseach stated the motion was "a rant" and that, apparently, we do not acknowledge what he calls "the good things". We most certainly do. First, we are proud to acknowledge that Ireland is a marvellous country, but it is a pity it is run so badly. Second, we acknowledge something equally marvellous, which is that even if the Taoiseach does not call an early election, his incompetent Government will still be gone inside 12 months. Third, we acknowledge something even better. I thank the Taoiseach for banging on and on about the economy in the newspapers today because that proves our point perfectly. His back-to-the-wall comments prove, beyond any doubt, that we need an election now because they show how utterly disconnected the Government has become from what worries people daily as they rear their children, run their businesses, care for their mother or father, go to work, commute for the equivalent of a day a week and pay the mortgage, the bills and their taxes.

People have every confidence in the economy, as they should, because it is theirs. They built it up and Deputy Rabbitte and I are making it perfectly clear to them that we will keep that economic success right on track. This is nothing new as we have done it previously and we will do it again. The last test of this was the first Government in 27 years to generate a budget surplus. In the short time the Government has left, it should give the people some credit. They know perfectly well that the Government did not gift them the economy and, therefore, the threat, "our Government gave you all this and a new government can take it all away" does not wash. It is a gross insult to their intelligence because no government in the world can create wealth, no matter what claims it makes to the contrary.

Instead, governments can and should create the best conditions to allow business to thrive and create and sustain wealth, and that is exactly what the next new government of the Fine Gael and Labour parties will do. We have published our ideas on the business proofing of all legislation to limit obstacles to growth. However, even better than that, we will get wealth working so that people can have the first-class services they are tired of waiting for and deserve, and the lack of which they raise constantly with public representatives, services such as, critically, health care when and where they need it, based on medical condition rather than how much they have in their pockets, more gardaí on the beat and proper educational facilities — 100,000 children are being taught in classes of more than 30 pupils and 33,000 students leave school with difficulties in reading and writing. At long last, people will see the success and the high standards of their personal lives reflected in the public space.

On 14 June 2004 the Taoiseach stated in the House:

I have worked throughout my political life to bring this country off its knees, from being an underdeveloped, third-rate country which nobody cared a damn about and which was riddled with violence. We are advancing.

His critique of his Government consists of ignoring the facts but, as it is Independence Day, I will recall Benjamin Franklin who stated, "Well done is always better than well said."

Despite what all the Government members say endlessly, expansively and expensively, the entire country knows the truth, which is that they have said an awful lot but they have done remarkably little. After nine years of spending €359 billion of people's hard earned money, the advances the Taoiseach talks about are not even a quarter of what they should be when it comes to the make-or-break issues in people's lives such as getting their health looked after when they need to, making the streets and communities safer, giving people a proper and decent chance to buy their own home, reining in the soaring cost of living and being part of a society with values at its heart. Fine Gael and the Labour Party have put forward detailed ideas in each of these areas.

The Government parties have had the power, time and money, but they did not address these issues and, therefore, if they could not do it in ten years, what in God's name makes them believe they could do in another five? They will not do so because they have failed to grasp two fundamentals. First, spending alone is part of the problem, not the solution. Deputy Rabbitte mentioned the €60 million spent on electronic voting, the €120 million bill of the PPARS debacle and the Ceaucescu-like Bertie bowl costing €100 million. This money could have been used to greater effect. Second, time alone, whether it is ten or 15 years, does absolutely nothing. What matters is what is done with the money and the time in planning, competence and coherence. In government, time and money do not achieve anything, as we have seen with this Government. It is about leadership, tough decisions, a reforming agenda, planning, strategy, responsibility, demanding value, taking charge and accepting responsibility. That is how results are achieved.

Serious violence is the only thing advancing in the country. On the watch of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, crime is up while detection is down. Many criminals carry on regardless and, the chances are, they will never be punished because they will never be caught. Glocks have become the weapon of choice while crime lords run their European empires from jail and sometimes they go global. Drive-by shootings, "hits" and gangland execution have, unfortunately, become an everyday part of life in some parts of Dublin.

The Government's incompetence is exceeded only by its arrogance because the Government parties are so out of touch with the people, their ignorance of what is really going on in their lives is encyclopaedic. Mr. Haughey, God rest him, had the measure of the Government. He stated that it is "The worst government in the history of the State; they have no plan; nothing works". He should know because he knew all the Government members so well. The Government parties have no plan and now we see why. I want to be clear about this because it is obvious that many of the problems Ireland faces have their genesis here. Today, Ireland is no longer governed by a two-party coalition. It is run by a federation of factions. The de Medici had nothing on the Government. This is a deluded, damaged and dysfunctional Government out of touch, out of order, and now almost out of time.

Last week, the Taoiseach might have administered his soothing ways to the not-so-sweet 16 smiling and shifting on the backbenches behind him. However, I assure him that between the heat on the doorsteps and the humidity in here, these fissures continue to fester.

Ego has shattered the fragile ecosystem of the Progressive Democrats. They are tearing each other apart. As they see it, everyone can be a leader so it is every man and woman for himself and herself. It reminds me, Deputy Cassidy, of the words of Julius Caesar, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings".

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is dangerous because while the Government implodes and is at war with and between itself, in the real world serious problems have now become intractable, such as those in health.

Nothing defines this Government like the health crisis. The Tánaiste asked that she and the Government would be judged on this——

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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I hope they are.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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——and they will be. Health should be the number one issue for any Government because health is the number one issue in almost everyone's life. We know now that the crises in health and elsewhere come behind ambition, appeasement and survival.

Away from the talking heads, the revolting backbenchers and the egotistical battles of the wannabe leaders, accident and emergency departments have become somewhere to be avoided, not attended. People are happier to take their chances at home than make the choice of going to casualty. For too many people, hospitals have become sources of life-threatening infection not healing. Many medical professionals now work to the limits not of their ability but of their endurance.

We have the intractable problem of putting a roof over one's head. Shelter is good and the Government has advanced here too. It has advanced adolescence to what used to be middle age, condemning 43,000 30-somethings to life at home with mammy and daddy. The Government has advanced so much it has created a new breed of Dubliner, the "Dulchie", who are born, reared and work in Dublin and hoped to live there. However, they can be found all over the new suburbs of Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare, Laois, Carlow and Louth. The Government left them out in the cold and did not plan for their future because the only thing it plans for is the next election, local or general.

It is epitomised by the comment of the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, that he was surprised the recent poll was not worse for the Government, effectively stating its Members can do what they want because they have a right to govern, and because they do, the "Dulchies" leave this city in droves. If the traffic is moving they will commute to work for only 25 hours in their five-day working week. The Government has stranded them miles from their jobs, social fabric and the supports they will need in the years ahead.

One could state the Government's solution to help first-time buyers has done for them what Fr. Ted did for Bishop Brennan. If Government Members do not know what that was, I am sure Fr. Dougal's dad, who normally sits in the Chair, will advise them. To help first-time buyers, the Government abolished the first-time house-buyer's grant, failed to meet its own social housing commitments in the national development programme, hiked up VAT on houses and supported levies that will put an extra €10,000, on average, onto the cost of a new house. Proposals were made on this side of the House on special SSIA type schemes for deposits, stamp duty abolition and on front-loading mortgage interest relief for the first seven years.

Now to the intractable problem of inflation. People might hear about inflation from George Lee. However, they feel and live with it in almost every area of their lives every day. With inflation now running at almost 4%, prices go through the roof. Every time one fills one's car or one's trolley, goes out for a meal, pays a bill, paints the house or gives the children a treat, it costs much more. Is it any wonder Ireland tops the EU as the most expensive place to live? In the worldwide stakes, Paris, Vienna, Miami and even Los Angeles are all cheaper than Dublin. That should shake the barley of the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, but it probably will not.

That top-of-the-range expense is not surprising when one considers that in the 12 months to 2005, Government sector prices absolutely rocketed. They increased at six times the rate of regular inflation. Under the Government's control they are out of control. The costs of hospital charges, health insurance and primary and secondary education have all increased by more than one tenth. Considering the rate rise in ESB and gas bills is enough to give people heart failure. To add insult to injury, the Government has hit the public with a battery of stealth taxes. Add that to rising mortgage rates and couples and families really start to feel the pain.

In the end, the most worrying aspect of the Government for the Opposition and the people is the potent mix of blind panic and blinder ambition which has put Ireland in a state of permanent contingency. We wondered about the fatigue, casualness and inertia mentioned by Deputy Rabbitte, and the growing contradictions, ambiguity and see-sawing between the former partners and now we know why.

Thanks to the action of the noblest Roman of them all, Brutus himself, we know the most important business, the public business, hangs not on what the people need or on what the Government plans, if it does plan. The public business of what happens in our hospitals and classrooms and what happens to our competitiveness, our old people, the criminal justice system and our children all hang on one thing alone. They hang on the latest twist of the love-hate saga between Fianna Fáil and the PDs.

Above all else, that is why an early general election is necessary. This Government, this federation of factions, is damaged and fractured beyond repair. There is no trust between the parties in Government nor is there any trust within them. Therefore, they should not be trusted to run the country. Confusion reigns throughout this Government. That confusion is contagious and it dampens every useful undertaking. In the fiasco of the rape legislation we watched that confusion spread like wildfire across the country, as the Taoiseach left for the United States and left leadership when it was needed to the Opposition benches. We believe Ireland cannot afford or does not deserve another minute of that confusion, paranoia or contingency, never mind five more years.

What we must remember about this Government and the promises it made is not just that it has broken its promises, which it has, it is more that it kept all the promises it intended to keep. Because of those promises made, kept or broken we have slaughter on our roads——

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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——a deficit in child care, crime on our streets, growing incivility in our society, a neglect of our elderly, a denigration of values, a deep void that affluence has failed to fill and an epidemic of suicide where loneliness kills and cries of anguish are not answered, principally because the Government reduced the budget from 11% to 6%.

The Government will not solve these problems, because to solve a problem it must first be faced. If the Government will not face a problem, it will not take responsibility nor make a decision. For the year it has left, it will be business as usual. It will continue to use the people's hard-earned money to do what it does best, subsidise problems not solve them. Tonight, the Acting Chairman would be correct to state the Government's time is almost concluded because not only does it have zero insight, it has zero energy, zero competence and zero credibility.

Ten years ago, the people gave the Taoiseach their vote, the most precious possession a democracy has, but they also gave him their trust. What did he give them in return?

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Nothing.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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A situation where seeing is believing. In the second richest country in Europe, we have people with end-stage cancer spending their most precious moments, because they are their final moments, vying for space on chairs and trolleys. Crime and criminality has become rampant. We see a society where civility and respect has diminished, aided and abetted by the Taoiseach's Government. For that reason I fully support the motion in the name of Deputy Rabbitte and the Labour Party and urge those 16 backbenchers in particular, some of whom are here now——

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Johnny is here. One of the 16.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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——arranging for the four day meetings over the month of July, to put forward their fabulous views on policies to support this motion.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I know they will not but if they had any courage, guts or gumption they would do that. Let us have an early election and let the people make their decision.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "General Election" in the first line and substitute the following:

"commends the Government for the strategic vision which it has displayed and the competence with which it has discharged its duties, such that:

— more than 600,000 jobs have been created since the Government took office in 1997 while the rate of unemployment has been reduced from 10.3% to 4.3% over the same period;

— a new strategy for science, technology and innovation to 2013 is being implemented, involving the initial investment of €2.7 billion up to 2008, which will drive economic growth, continue to create high quality and high paying jobs and facilitate social advancement;

— a truly integrated national transport network is being developed in Ireland through a record €7.8 billion investment in transport infrastructure over the past 9 years and a further €34.4 billion investment under Transport 21, which is the largest infrastructure programme ever undertaken in this State and will mean that €9.4 million is invested in transport every day for the next 10 years;

— the introduction of a national disability strategy has supported and reinforced the equal participation in society of people with disabilities through a €900 million multi-annual investment programme for disability support services and the implementation of a range of new legislative measures;

— the Office of the Minister for Children was established giving a clear focus on the needs of children at the heart of Government with the responsible Minister at the Cabinet table and an integrated approach to the implementation of the National Children's Strategy across all the relevant Departments;

— countless deaths and serious illnesses caused by second hand tobacco smoke are being avoided and the quality of people's lives have been vastly improved because the Government took the courageous step of introducing a smoking ban in workplaces across the country;

— the economy is being managed in a way that delivers increased prosperity for all citizens, allows increased resources to be used to improve public infrastructure, and allows for enhanced social services aimed at addressing the needs of the less fortunate in our society;

— Ireland's fiscal performance is among the best in the developed world, with Government indebtedness the second lowest in the euro area;

— this country now has a far more equitable tax system where the top one per cent of earners pay more than 20% of all income tax and the top 4% of all earners are expected to contribute about 40% of the total income tax yield for 2006, and where those on or below the average industrial wage will pay only 6% of all income tax, and where OECD data shows that once again Ireland has the lowest tax wedge (i.e. income tax plus employee and employer PRSI) as a proportion of gross wages in the EU;

— the necessary resources have been provided to meet the priority needs in frontline and essential services such as new health units and disability services in the health area, special needs teachers and assistants in the education area and greatly increased numbers of gardaí to ensure public safety and to fight crime;

— the net impact of the Government's successful measures to boost employment and improve social welfare rates has been to remove 250,000 people from consistent poverty;

— the public is getting maximum value for money, through a robust framework that has been put in place for appraising and delivering capital projects from the multi-annual programme of capital investment which, at twice the European average, is transforming our infrastructure, with most projects now coming in ahead of time and within budget;

— there has been an unprecedented reduction in waiting times for hospital procedures achieved through the National Treatment Purchase Fund and increased investment in hospitals and specialist staff, so that in most instances, the NTPF will offer treatment to any patient waiting more than three months;

— the establishment of the Health Service Executive and its role in bringing unified management for the first time to major projects in information technology, hospital buildings and new services, is achieving consistent national service standards and best value for money;

— significant improvements have been achieved over recent months in some of our 35 A & E departments through the substantial actions and unprecedented focus by management to address the problems that existed there;

— there has been a five-fold increase in investment in school buildings, a new proactive approach to school planning in developing areas has been introduced and by next September there will be 4,000 more teachers in our primary schools;

— an unprecedented programme of resourcing and reform of the criminal justice system has been undertaken, including bringing the strength of the Garda Síochána up to 14,000, so that serious crime rates are now lower per head of population than 10 years ago;

— the Prison Service had sufficient resources to end the scandal of the 'revolving door';

— the most comprehensive range of legislative measures to combat crime and anti-social behaviour in all its forms was introduced;

— there was an immediate response by the State in successfully appealing to the Supreme Court the decision of the High Court to release 'Mr. A' and that emergency legislation was speedily enacted to deal with the issues arising from the Supreme Court judgment in the 'CC case';

— a new comprehensive approach to road safety was introduced involving the establishment of the Road Safety Authority and the Garda Traffic Corps, the expansion of the penalty points system including the introduction of a fully computerised nationwide system from April and the soon to be enacted Road Traffic Bill 2006 will introduce mandatory alcohol testing, privately-operated speed cameras and a ban on hand-held mobile phones when driving;

— the €499 million Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-2006 was implemented, securing the creation of 41,000 new quality child care places by programme end, of which 29,000 were in place by the end of 2005;

— the €575 million on-going investment in the New National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010, will create an additional 50,000 child care places;

— there have been substantial increases in child benefit, which has quadrupled since 1997, and is now supplemented by the early childcare supplement, a universal payment of 1,000 euro per annum in respect of each child under the age of six;

— there have been very substantial improvements in maternity benefit, parental leave and adoptive leave since the Government took office;

— radical reform in the area of consumer protection was introduced by establishing the new Consumer Agency and abolishing the Groceries Order, which kept prices artificially high;

— the regional broadband strategy has resulted in a rapidly growing, competitive broadband market that has seen a tripling of broadband take-up, falling prices and greater choice in services and providers for the consumer;

— the largest ever spending on social welfare at €13.5 billion (equivalent to double the spend in 2000) was introduced in the last budget benefiting 1.5 million people;

— the commitment in the programme for Government to increase child benefit to €150 for the first two children and €185 for each subsequent child was achieved in this year's budget;

— the carer's allowance was increased to €200 per week for those over 66 (an increase of almost €43 in two years) and €180 per week for those under 66 (an increase of more than €40 in two years) and that the respite care grant increased to €1,200 (up from €835 in two years);

— pensioners have a decent income by increasing rates this year by €16 to €193 .30 (contributory) and €14 to €182 (non-contributory);

— the policies and investment were put in place to deliver record increases in housing supply, including the building of one third of all houses in Ireland in the period since 1997 — more than half a million new homes — and the needs of almost 100,000 households were provided for through various social and affordable programmes in the same period; and

concludes that the best interests of the country and the people are served by allowing the Government to complete its programme before the dissolution of the 29th Dáil and the holding of a general election, which is due next year."

I wish to share my time with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and Deputies Curran, O'Connor and Mulcahy.

Deputies:

The Tallaght 16.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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That is some combination.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Across the country, young men and women, whose future depends on the quality of leadership politicians can give them, have recently completed their examinations. Over the next few weeks, they will nervously await the results that will determine the immediate future options that are open to them.

Here in Leinster House, we have our own end of term ritual. The Opposition fills in the Government's report card without bothering to check the exam paper. They pick a grade out of thin air. The result is never an A that reflects Ireland's achievements. It is always an F that holds up a mirror of failure to the Irish people.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach should look in the mirror.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Tonight, the Opposition members have come into the House to try to justify themselves once again. It might not be fair or accurate, but it is the kind of politics and the level of debate that we have learned to expect from an Opposition that has nothing to offer the young people awaiting their exam results, planning their future and anticipating their turn to lead Ireland forward.

The politics of Fine Gael and of Labour is the politics of attack. It is the politics of power for power's own sake. It is politics devoid of policy. It is politics empty of vision and utterly lacking in any real leadership.

The last end of term censure motion was from the Labour Party in June 2003. That night, the attack on this Government was about hospital waiting lists——

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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It is still a problem.

Deputies:

We are still waiting.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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——the recruitment of 2,000 extra gardaí, extending medical card eligibility, improving our school buildings, providing child care places and delivering to disadvantaged communities through community employment and RAPID. Three years later, on all of these issues and many more——

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Are the same.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Or worse.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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——there has been real measurable progress of which the Irish people can be proud.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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There has not been any progress.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Garda numbers have already increased by almost 2,000 and will expand further in the year ahead, reaching a level of 3,500 more than when Deputies Rabbitte and Kenny sat at the Cabinet table and agreed a cut in Garda numbers.

There will be 4,000 extra primary school teachers in our schools next September compared with 2002, which means there are 7,000 more teaching at all levels today than when Deputies Rabbitte and Kenny agreed a cut in teacher numbers.

On medical cards, the Government has met and exceeded its commitment to provide an additional 30,000 medical cards.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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It has not.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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That is a direct lie.

Deputies:

The Taoiseach is misleading the House. The problem is many of them will not get their medical card.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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In addition, we have introduced the GP visit card for low income families. On child care places, we have met and passed out our commitment. A total of 30,000 child care places have been provided.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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How many have been withdrawn by the Minister, Deputy McDowell?

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On disadvantaged communities, some 250,000 people, including 100,000 children, have been lifted out of consistent poverty. A total of 21,000 places for people in CE schemes have been provided and a refocused RAPID programme is building stronger communities and supporting people at the margins.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is a big help.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Where Deputy Kenny and Deputy Rabbitte have done nothing except complain, mislead and promise everything to everyone, this Government has worked with the people to deliver success.

Tonight, the Opposition members have a different list of issues, but they still have the same tired and cynical script. They attack and attack, but they offer absolutely no alternative, policy or substance.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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The Taoiseach was not listening.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was, unfortunately. They accuse the Government of what has yet to be done on crime, health, child care, education, the economy, house prices, road safety, social inclusion and farming.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Grimms' fairy tale.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Opposition members have a duty to hold the Government to account. That is an account I am glad to give, and I will. Tonight, however, they are posing as an alternative Government in an election they claim they want now. If the Irish people know absolutely nothing about what this alternative Government plans to offer for the future, they do remember what they offered in the recent past.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On a night when we are being asked to think about broken promises from this Government, let us think about the nightmare scenario if Fine Gael and Labour had been given the opportunity to keep their promises and implement their programme from the last election. Their promise in the last election was to borrow more, spend more and tax more. Labour wanted to double capital gains tax.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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That is not true.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Fine Gael wanted to pay off everyone from taxi drivers to Eircom shareholders.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Will the Taoiseach give way?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Their programme for Government——

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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I am entitled to ask if the Taoiseach will give way.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Not at all.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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On a point of order, the Taoiseach is misleading the House.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is not a point of order. The Taoiseach to continue.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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All Members of this House must abide by the rules.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Their programme for Government was a reckless, cynical gamble with the future of the young people who have completed their exams and are setting off in life this July.

Looking back on the last motion of censure from the Opposition members three years ago and the issues they highlighted then, one thing is clear. If this Government does not have instant solutions to all the challenges we face and if, unlike them, we do not have one for everyone in the audience, we do have real, realistic and costed plans that step by step, issue by issue are delivering a better and brighter future for this country.

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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The Taoiseach should ask his backbenchers.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On the issues, the facts speak for themselves. On crime, more gardaí and increased resources are being delivered effectively.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Where are they?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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In a population that has increased by 14% since Deputy Kenny and Deputy Rabbitte sat at the Cabinet table, crime has dropped in relation to our population.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Nineteen murders this year.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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What has also changed is that unlike then, we now have a Government that knows that any level of crime, especially violent crime, is unacceptable.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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What is the Taoiseach doing about it?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are determined to tackle crime, build jails and put criminals behind bars.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Will we be safe?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On health, radical reform is in progress and real results are being delivered in many areas. Waiting lists have been successfully reduced to months instead of years.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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That is not true.

Deputies:

They cannot get on the waiting lists.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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In accident and emergency units, service is being improved in many hospitals. In others, where real problems remain,we are working with the Health Service Executive and the staff to deliver long-term and effective solutions for patients.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On schools, since Deputy Kenny and Deputy Rabbitte sat at the Cabinet table, 7,000 extra teachers are now working with 6,000 extra special needs assistants in smaller classes, in a system that now has a clear focus on the needs of students who most need additional help.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Class sizes are bigger than ever.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On child care, the Government is building on its delivery of more than 30,000 additional child care places. A new early child care supplement worth €1,000 per annum is payable in respect of children under six.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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When?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Child benefit has almost quadrupled from €38.10 per month in 1997 to €150 today. The facts on these issues and others that my colleagues will deal with in detail speak for themselves. They speak of the steady and planned progress being made on the issues that really matter to people.

Ireland has seen a great deal of progress over the past ten years through the hard work of the people and a Government that has worked with them. It is truly extraordinary that the Opposition can launch a lengthy debate about the state of the nation and fail to even once mention job creation and the economic policies that have successfully delivered an end to mass unemployment and high emigration.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Since 1997, 600,000 people are at work in Ireland in new jobs, giving opportunity to people and a massive lift to our economy.

This is an Opposition that has nothing to say about massive increases in pensions and in children's allowances. Its members remain silent about repeated and radical reductions in income tax. They have nothing to say about the relentless effort to build a just and a lasting peace on this island.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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We led the way on that.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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They say nothing because they stand for nothing except the pursuit of power for the sake of power.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Kenny and Deputy Rabbitte have nothing to say because they have nothing to offer. Having learned the lessons of 2002, they have now resolved to say nothing at all.

The duty of Government is to ensure public safety, improve public services and deliver support for those most in need but Fine Gael and Labour repeatedly refuse to explain to the people what they will better deliver if elected. They call for a reduction in spending and waste but refuse to explain which programmes they would cut in government.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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We would not waste money like the Government.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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They refuse to publish new policies accompanied by detailed costings. Their irresponsible economic policies proposed in the last general election campaign would threaten hard won progress on job creation, tax reduction and economic growth. On vital social issues such as health and education, they refuse to consider the tough decisions required for effective investment and reform. It is extraordinary that on the basis of so short and scant a paper trail Fine Gael and the Labour Party are clocking up a split a week simply on the basis of the issues arising.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Do not mention the war.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Last week Fine Gael introduced the Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill which Deputy Howlin rejected on behalf of the Labour Party. A week ago last Sunday, at their joint press conference, the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party admitted that they could not agree on the question of the age of consent, and on and on it goes every week.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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What is the age of consent?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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What a fine mess this country would be in with a Government trying to move in two directions at once.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Taoiseach to continue.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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It shows a lack of confidence in the two leaders that all Members believe they should be able to speak for them. I do not mind. On 28 March 2004 Deputy Kenny promised a comprehensive policy programme within 18 months. It has been the longest 18 months and the shortest comprehensive programme in recent Irish political history. Fine Gael and the Labour Party could write their long promised comprehensive programme on the back of a post card from Mullingar.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The then Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, said the Luas had been costed on the back of an envelope.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to allow the Taoiseach to continue.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I say to the Fine Gael Whip, if keeping promises in government can sometimes be really difficult, breaking them in opposition takes real genius.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach's party will be here shortly.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputies Kenny and Rabbitte have a single issue agenda: power. Afraid of the issues and having nothing new to offer, they are trying to patent policy-free politics. They want to have an issue-free election. Their strongest argument is that after waiting all of their political lives in the doldrums of opposition to secure a mandate for government, now it is their turn. I have a message for them tonight. No one has an entitlement to govern.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I am glad the Taoiseach has admitted it.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Taoiseach to continue.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is an insult to the public to come here tonight and pretend that they have even begun to have a serious debate about the future of the country. The Government intends to finish the job that the people gave us to do.

Deputies:

The Government will finish the people.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will then ask for their judgment, not only on a record of achievement but also on the real promise of future delivery, based on real costed plans for the future, not empty promises.

It took Ireland 30 years to become an overnight success. It took the hard work, innovation and education of the people to turn the country around. Now there are new challenges. Building a 20th century infrastructure, building an education system from the crèche up, resourcing and reforming the health system——

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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On a point of information——

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to resume her seat.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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——funding pensions and providing care for the elderly are the issues that require new thinking and fresh ideas, not old hat and cynical politics.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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We are in the 21st century and want 21st century solutions.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to resume her seat.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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One by one, the Government is thinking through these issues and we are bringing our proposals forward in a costed and coherent way. We are planning for the future of a changing Ireland in a challenging world.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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And a change of Government also.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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What about the Opposition parties? Tonight we heard what they have to offer — nothing but cynicism and scorn as usual. It is the same motion as was tabled in 2003, without one new innovative idea or policy. They just try to shout me down as they have been doing for years and wasting their time.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Taoiseach continue.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Their formula for winning power is politics minus policy. I remind Deputy Kenny that there is more to leadership than ambition.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There is truth in that statement. Responsibility is also needed.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The 17 and 18 years olds who are waiting for their examination results need hope and a Government with real plans for the future.

Deputies:

What is the Government's plan?

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Bring it forward.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Tonight we have yet again been shown how the Mullingar accord is a deal for grabbing power, not a vision for realising Ireland's future. It is a squalid deal that is rotten before it is ripe. We will continue to work, while the Opposition continues to complain. Next year the people will decide who has the better record, the better plans and the best vision to build on the remarkable and unprecedented progress of the last decade. I very much look forward to that day.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Will the 16 backbenchers please stand up?

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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They are gone.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I profoundly disagree with the political motivation behind the motion. The Opposition charges us with being tired, divided and arrogant. Is it not ironic that the main proposer of the motion, Deputy Rabbitte, has left on the record of the House the charge that the Ceann Comhairle is congenitally incapable of being fair? It was not enough that he had charged the Ceann Comhairle with being unfair. He had to bring his family into it and make a wildly unfair allegation. Having made this unfair charge, he steadfastly refused to withdraw it, never mind apologise for it. When it comes to arrogance, we on the Government side are only in the ha'penny place compared to Deputy Rabbitte.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister to continue without interruption.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Opposition parties charge us with being tired. It is they who are tiring. We are tired of the same old lines they put out repeatedly. The Government is not tired. I have set myself many tasks in my area of justice, equality and law reform for the next 12 months that I intend to achieve. I want to use the next 12 months to implement in full the Garda Síochána Act. I want to see the office of the Garda ombudsman and the Garda inspectorate operational. I also want to introduce the Garda reserve and local policing committees and have them commence their important work.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister does not have the agreement of the Garda to do that.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Minister to continue.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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This month the Garda Commissioner takes over as Accounting Officer for the force. I want to use the next 12 months to recruit another 1,100 trainee gardaí to make irreversible our goal of a Garda force of more than 14,000.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I reject the politics of Deputies Kenny and Rabbitte who at the Cabinet table reduced the number of gardaí. I want to pass the Criminal Justice Bill and bring it into operation. I want to roll out the application of anti-social behaviour orders and make our prisons drugs-free. I want to build new prisons at Thornton and on Spike Island.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I want to pilot through the House our reforms in the area of defamation and privacy laws.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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On a point of order——

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Hayes on a point of order.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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What has the Minister been doing for the past three years?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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A hell of a lot more than you will ever do in your lifetime, buddy.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That is not a point of order. I ask the Minister to continue.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I want to secure passage of legislation providing for a legal services ombudsman.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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It is all "I want, I want". What will the Minister do?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I want to introduce a new national property services regulatory authority to control the auctioneering profession.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Is there anything the Minister does not want?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Government is not tired. Every one of my colleagues has a packed agenda which we intend to implement in the next year. Just let the Opposition wait.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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It is the Minister's own agenda.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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My real objection is with the implicit suggestion in the motion that something is on offer from the opposite side of the House.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Why is the Minister always trying to join us then?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Since 1970, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have governed together for 12 years out of the 35. There have been just five years when real income per head in Ireland fell. In every one of those periods Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in government together. Fine Gael and the Labour Party equal slump. That is the fundamental equation of Irish politics. Anybody with any memory knows that Fine Gael and the Labour Party together form a slump coalition.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister was in Fine Gael once.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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When one adds to Fine Gael and the Labour Party, the Green Party, Deputies Joe Higgins, Cowley, Gregory, Finian McGrath, Healy and others, it would be a recipe for a major slump. When we have Deputy Kenny's Stan Laurel and Deputy Rabbitte's Oliver Hardy, this is another fine mess into which they hope to get the people.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has some neck.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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A slump coalition of Fine Gael and the Labour Party would mean increased unemployment. When the rainbow coalition left office in 1997, unemployment stood at a figure of 10.9%.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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We were creating 1,000 jobs per week.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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That is what the Labour Party and Fine Gael stand for.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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The Minister will shortly be unemployed himself.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Minister to continue.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I want to discuss the cohesion of the Opposition. As the Taoiseach has noted, last week Fine Gael introduced the Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006 and Labour Party Deputies sat squirming with embarrassment because they knew it was a stunt.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Sinn Féin voted with the Government. The Minister and Gerry Adams were together.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to stop interrupting in that manner.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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They supported the Minister.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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On the question of the age of consent, Fine Gael and the Labour Party are sharply divided.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Progressive Democrats are hopelessly divided.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Let us turn to tonight's business, defence and neutrality. Fine Gael wants a European defence capability but the Labour Party and the Green Party do not agree. A Fine Gael candidate in my constituency wants a European army.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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We are neutral on the Progressive Democrats' leadership contest.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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On the question of neutrality, does Deputy Kenny propose to give the Labour Party and the Green Party a double veto on the triple lock?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Address the motion.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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On simple issues such as the European Union, the Opposition is hopelessly divided. Where is it with regard to neutrality and other serious political subjects?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The open war is in the Progressive Democrats.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I want to rehearse for the House a solemn promise from Deputy Kenny.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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A promise that he will be leader next time.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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If he will not listen to me, he might listen to himself. Referring to co-operation in the Oireachtas, he is quoted in the Sunday Times of 28 March 2004 as saying:

I think we can expand that over the next 18 months into a comprehensive programme — that is what I'd like to do. You are going to have to deal with areas of health and education and crime; you are going to have to deal with the overall response that you get from the economy — how you use the fruits of that ... Essentially it is a question of laying out a credible alternative, of saying "before you go to vote the next time you are going to have a clear choice", and we are going to give them that.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Please allow the Minister to continue.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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The Minister will not be climbing up a lamppost next time.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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That promise——

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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It was true.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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——to produce an alternative programme for Government within 18 months was made more than two years ago but the Opposition has failed miserably. It has no ideas and is bereft of any policy. As the Taoiseach told the House, if the parties opposite are breaking promises while in opposition, God help us when they get into government.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Minister would know all about breaking promises.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I will finish on this point. The Labour Party, Fine Gael, the Green Party and the far left coalition behind them are a recipe for a slump in the economy.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and Sinn Féin.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The only slump will be in the Government's vote.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The people know that if they put the Labour Party and Fine Gael into office, the cranes will disappear from the skyline, the unemployment queues will grow and growth will stop.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Minister should calm down.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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That has been our experience. The Deputy may laugh but when he last left office ——

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Sit down, Walter Mitty.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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—— the unemployment rate was over 10%. Such a rate has brought down other governments in Europe but was good enough for the Labour Party because, as far as it is concerned, it feeds off poverty and inequality without doing anything to solve them. It is a disgrace.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The emperor has no clothes.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I totally reject the sentiments expressed in this grossly inaccurate motion. Its sponsors are being disingenuous with the people on the progress made in recent years in areas such as the economy, education, social welfare and justice. The advances made by the Government have been remarkable. Radical changes in all areas of Irish life have been made possible by the revenues generated from a well managed and buoyant economy. This did not happen by chance, as Opposition colleagues often suggest, but as a result of careful management of the economy and the adoption of appropriate policies. Employment was created through low taxation; entrepreneurship was incentivised, while risk takers were rewarded. The fruits of the success of the economy allow the Government to adopt new and radical policies which will affect many areas of Irish life.

Recently, the Green Party stated it would spend an extra €1 billion per year on education if it was in government. Unfortunately, as the members of that party are not present tonight, I cannot remind them that the Government has increased spending by that amount in all aspects of education. We are spending more on primary, secondary and tertiary education and investing in special education and school building programmes. The education budget for this year is nearly €8 billion, or two and a half times the figure when the rainbow coalition left office in 1997. In recent years an additional 5,000 teachers have been hired, the largest increase in teacher numbers since the introduction of free education. More than 5,000 primary teachers have been employed to work solely with children with special needs, in addition to the individual supports provided by almost 6,000 special needs assistants. There were fewer than 300 when the rainbow coalition was in government but I suppose the Opposition does not want to make that point.

When asked how he would fund the extra €1 billion for education, Deputy Boyle is reported to have replied that he would make savings in areas such as justice. That is the wrong answer. The policies followed by parties on his side of the House and those on my side are considerably different in that respect. We do not cut spending but increase it by growing the economy. That has been the source of the success we enjoy.

The recent promise by the Labour Party to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 15,000 is somewhat cynical. When the party was last in government, Garda numbers fell. Under the Government, Garda numbers are at an all-time high. The Garda budget for this year is €1.3 billion, twice what it was when it came to power and it will not be cut.

I remind Fine Gael and the Labour Party what happened when they were last in power. They were not tough on crime. The number of gardaí fell during the years the rainbow coalition was in power from 10,800 to 10,700. It failed to provide even one new prison. It supported the cancellation of the prison building programme at a time when almost 20% of sentenced prisoners were on permanent temporary release because of the shortage of prison spaces. It repeatedly opposed legislation which would impose mandatory ten year sentences on substantial drug dealers and deal with serious offences committed by those on bail and voted against legislation which would have allowed persons convicted of serious offences to be subjected to a curfew. When it comes to justice and crime, the words of the Labour Party ring hollow. There is no doubt that the confusion in its policy contributed to the recent reshuffle of the justice portfolio.

The public is right to be tired of politicians who spend their time talking about the process of politics. We want an honest debate about policy alternatives and the best road forward for the country but such a debate is not possible if one side refuses to set out its position. The Opposition has not brought forward any policies. It is the most negative in recent Irish history. It wants us to sit back and allow it to duck all the difficult decisions and is doing everything it can to avoid an honest debate.

I am pleased to support the Government amendment.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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He has a lot of injury time because he was interrupted so much.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Did he feel the pain?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Unlikely.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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He is well able for it.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I could easily be overawed by an occasion like this but I am not. I was in Tallaght on Saturday and listened to RTE who reported that the last time I spoke in the Dáil, on Friday, I spoke to only a few people. I am glad the Taoiseach is here but also that the Opposition shows such interest. I wonder where is the Green Party.

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Where are the Government backbenchers?

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot wait for the vote tomorrow night because I would like to see what the Green Party and the Independents will do. Who will vote for an election?

I spoke to someone in Firhouse who said there was no sign of an election. In the old days, the Taoiseach called an election, parties held conventions and candidates worked hard for three weeks. We have been working for the past two years since the convention. In my case I have not stopped working since the last general election. I look forward to Deputy Kenny confirming I am his number one target. Bring on the candidate.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear. Senator Brian Hayes is after you.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will not be distracted by talk of when the election will take place. It will be at least 330 days before an election is called. I will continue representing my constituents and the Dublin region.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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On the motion, Charlie.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will continue talking to the Government and the Taoiseach when he is not on State business.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Is he listening?

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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All this nonsense talk about——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Policies and things.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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——different groups in Government is incorrect. We are happily working in Government and will see the Opposition in 330 days.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I call Deputy Enright.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion, the perfect opportunity to assess the record of this Government after nine years gelling together and falling apart. Deputy O'Connor's sterling defence of his record led me to believe we had tabled a motion of no confidence in him. I wish to address this Government's failure to protect children and class size as well as other unfulfilled commitments.

Nothing could highlight incompetence and arrogance better than the attitude of Government to the CC case a few weeks ago. Despite the release of a convicted sex offender from jail, the Taoiseach fled the country and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, reacted with his usual bluster, believing that if he could talk everyone down then he would win the argument. He eventually adopted legislation that he admitted was flawed.

We have heard much about how this Government prioritises child safety but all we have seen is limited action. I questioned the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, on this point earlier today. Some limited progress has been made on vetting but we are nowhere near having a comprehensive response that deals with all those having contact with children. The register of persons considered unsafe to work with children has languished in section C in this House since I was elected in 2002. Rather than reacting to every crisis as it comes along, a real response involves planning, taking responsibility and providing leadership on tough decisions.

The Taoiseach referred to a previous motion by Fine Gael and the Labour Party from 2003. It is a pity he did not examine the record from December 2003 when Fine Gael, with the support of the Labour Party, provided comprehensive solutions to child care, particularly with regard to vetting. Two and a half years later we have seen no action from the Government.

In 2002, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats pledged to reduce the average class size for children under the age of nine to a ratio of 20 pupils to one teacher. Today more than 111,000 primary school children nationally are now being taught in classes of 30 or more. In 2002 An Agreed Programme for Government stated: "Over the next five years we will progressively introduce maximum class guidelines which will ensure that the average size of classes for children under 9 will be below the international best-practice guideline of 20:1."

This firm promise to reduce class sizes was quickly reduced to a noble aspiration. The latest figures show 287 pupils in classes of 40 or more, 9,863 in classes of 35 to 39 and 101,608 in classes of 30 to 34. There remains only 12 months to reduce the ratio to 20:1 and this cannot be done in time. The overall maximum class size guideline for primary schools is 29 pupils but this is exceeded in schools in all parts of the country. The Government and the Minister have blamed individual schools for these larger classes but this is totally unacceptable. This is a Government cop-out to distract attention from the failure to deliver on the commitment to reduce class sizes.

Some 50% of primary schools across the country have no access to the National Educational Psychological Service and a further 133 schools lost cover between 2005 and 2006. The Minister stated that under the social partnership talks there will be more psychologists by 2009. By 2009 a child in need of assessment could have made the transition from primary to post primary, or out of school altogether. A child might have moved through three different school classes without the needed assessment. The Government entered office in 1997 and is telling some children to wait until 2009, exactly the total length of time a child spends in school.

In 1996 the rainbow Government provided 1,680 places on early start programmes at 40 locations. Since that time there has been zero expansion of the programme despite the talk of child care in pre-school. A positive opportunity has been denied to countless numbers of children.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform referred to what he sees as issues of contention between Fine Gael and the Labour Party. That would be amusing were it not for the disagreement between the Government parties and within the Government parties. The Minister had to back down on café bars despite telling us he got the deal he wanted. There was disagreement on Aer Lingus, the smoking ban and incineration, at least in terms of location.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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What was the disagreement on the smoking ban?

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Ask Deputy McGuinness and many of the sweet 16.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Ask for his view on the smoking ban.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The most interesting disagreement is on the nitrates directive, where two Ministers of the same party disagree. The Minister for Agriculture and Food states she will protect and prioritise the rights of farmers while the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is attempting to jail them for minor breaches.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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There is more to being in Government than smiling for photo opportunities. A classic photograph in today's newspaper showed the Taoiseach with a kitten on his shoulder. All the cute kittens in the world will not make this Government look caring.

Despite divisions within Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, they are clinging together because there is no longer a difference between the two. They have effectively become one. In school, teachers used to struggle to find a modern example of how the Normans became more Irish than the Irish themselves. They can now look at the Progressive Democrats and say that it has become more Fianna Fáil than Fianna Fáil.

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Six farmers leave agriculture per day. In 2005 the average Irish farmer lost €3,900 even when the single farm payment is taken into account representing an average loss of €75 per week per farm family. At the same time stealth taxes and input costs are increasing on a daily basis. The Government is putting the squeeze on farmers. Farm profits have fallen by almost 25% since 1995, two thirds of which is due to the rising costs of farm inputs such as feedstuffs, fertilisers, fuel and veterinary expenses, which have increased by 44%.

Teagasc claimed that the current WTO proposals of complete abolition of EU export subsidies and major reductions in import tariffs will mean that one third of cattle farmers and one third of tillage farmers would find it more lucrative to leave land lying idle and claim the single farm payment. This is in stark contrast to the commitment given in the 2002 An Agreed Programme for Government.

The stated aim was the continued enhancement of agriculture. If it continues any longer there will be no one left. The Government stated that decoupling would give the freedom to farm. In fact, the Government has introduced more bureaucracy and red tape. As a result of the nitrates directive, a farmer must use a thermometer before spreading fertiliser or he or she could end up in jail for six months or facing a fine of €3,000. No effort is being made to secure a derogation which the Government on numerous occasions committed itself to seek.

In the past two years the Government introduced new rules and regulations relating to animal medicines and transport. It also introduced new rules relating to the flock register for sheep which nobody, not even the Department's officials, can implement. The Minister presided over the demise of the sugar industry and failed to protect it. She turned her back on the people of Carlow and the employees of the sugar factory. Now she is preparing to give the lion's share of compensation to private interests, not to farmers who need the money to stay in farming and diversify.

On biofuels, the Government made many promises. After almost ten years in office, it still has not published an energy policy and does not know where it going on the issue. It gave commitments on food labelling. A consumer who purchases beef in a supermarket does not know where in the world it, or any other food product, originated. The Government has stood over this situation and not provided the resources to enforce food labelling. Beef being passed off as Irish could contain clenbuterol or antibiotic residues. It could, in fact, come from another part of the world. However, it appears to be satisfactory to turn a blind eye to this. The response of the Minister for Agriculture and Food is that it is a matter for the Minister for Health and Children. Again, this is a case of passing the buck — so much for joined up government.

The Government's policy on agriculture, the Agri-Vision report, contains no indications about funding commitments and sets no strategic targets for the future. Instead of hollow promises, Fine Gael is prepared to deliver for farmers and consumers and the economically important agri-food sector which the Government has ignored in the past eight and a half years. We will improve labelling to ensure consumers will know exactly what they are buying and where it originated from; promote Irish food through a green label which the Government promised to do four and a half years ago but is still only considering; reduce red tape instead of introducing more rules and regulations; and set up a viable biofuels industry. We are prepared to make the changes and the decisions. It is about time the Government gave us the opportunity to do so.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It is a given that the electorate is tired of the Government. This has been the case for the last couple of years. Blinded by arrogance and a detachment from the people it purports to represent, the results of the 2004 elections and the messages they contained went unnoticed and unheeded. In recent months a string of opinion polls which reflect the mood of the electorate has finally hit home and we have the spectacle in Fianna Fáil of politicians turning inward in fear as each scrambles for survival. In the Progressive Democrats self has been placed before service to the country and more energy has been expended in seeking to manipulate the media than in addressing the many problems in health and justice.

The Government has measured its effectiveness in the quantity of funding that it disperses. Nobody else who will go to the polls at the next general election will make their judgment on the same basis. The Government is seeking to rewrite history. It seeks to claim that it created the Celtic tiger but I cannot imagine Deputy Martin, Deputy Cullen and Deputy O'Dea creating it when history will show that they destroyed the fruits of the economy with a series of ill-judged and mismanaged projects, with which we are familiar. In time, I expect many more will come to the surface as the squabble to dole out the largesse results in no value for money proofing.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party will form the next Government and that realisation has driven the coalition into panic. Every possible measure is being invoked to stem the tide. Vague references are made to the last full term Fine Gael and Labour Party Government, a Government which brought forward a social agenda that was opposed by Fianna Fáil but later embraced by that party and which recognised that financial responsibility was imperative for survival after the squandering that took place after 1977. Despite the Opposition's obstruction at every hand's turn during that period, Alan Dukes took responsibility when there was a change of Government. Perhaps the biggest sin was the attempt to undermine the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the forerunner to the Good Friday Agreement. Fine Gael and the Labour Party set the agenda for the past 20 years and, after opportunistic opposition, the Government embraced virtually every idea formulated by Fine Gael and the Labour Party during their period in office. We will also set the agenda for the next 20 years which will be based on equality of opportunity. The Taoiseach stated tonight that the alternative government did not outline how it hoped to achieve peace on this island, or words to that effect. I remind him that the Good Friday Agreement was passed in 1998 but the past eight years have been years of stalemate as the middle ground has almost disappeared with the extremes in the ascendancy. I wonder how history will judge that period.

The Government has shown no vision for or commitment to the people. I listened to the bluster of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, and recall how he claimed that a Private Members' Bill which I had presented to assist volunteers was flawed. He was wrong, just as he was wrong last week in his rejection of Fine Gael's home protection Bill. The humble pie he had to eat following his disastrous handling of the age of consent issue and his climbdown following the infantile attack on Deputy Bruton seem to have been ill digested, given that he said tonight "a hell of a lot more than you will do in a lifetime" in response to a heckle. Such arrogance is the root cause of the Government's problems. The Minister also alluded to Fine Gael's position on the triple lock. It is clear he does not talk to his party's chairman, Senator Minihan, although this is not surprising. Senator Minihan stated last week in the Seanad that he supported our position on the matter.

The Government's amendment refers to resources for the Prison Service. On 4 May bed capacity in Mountjoy Prison was 445 but the number in custody was 500; bed capacity in the Dóchas centre was 85 but there were 96 in custody; bed capacity in Cork Prison was 253 but the number in custody was 256; bed capacity in Castlerea Prison was 206 but there were 214 in custody. It is no wonder the Minister cannot do his job.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The rainbow Government let them all out on temporary release through the revolving door.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is on the radio and television more often than the top broadcasters put together. It is a wonder RTE does not give him a job, although it is probably overburdened with comedy and cannot take on any more.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I decided to emulate Deputy O'Connor and use some local issues to highlight how the Government had failed the people I was elected to represent. I will start with transport. Every morning in Terenure one can sit in one's car, have a cup of tea, read a couple of newspapers and make a few telephone calls because there is no rush. One will sit for at least an hour in the traffic jam.

Transport 21, a wonderful idea, has been promised but Terenure, Walkinstown, Kimmage and Crumlin have been left out of the loop. One of my colleagues, Deputy Mulcahy, is of the opinion that he will bring the Luas to Terenure. We look forward to this. I hope it happens sooner rather than later. My colleague, Deputy Shortall, calculates that one would be better off travelling from Ballyfermot to the city centre by horse and cart as it would take only 33 minutes, whereas if one travels by bus, it will take 52 minutes. That demonstrates a gap in the quality of our transport system.

On crime, I am glad the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is present. It was said the number of gardaí was at an all-time high. That might be true for some parts of the country but not for Dublin South-Central. In fact, the number of community gardaí in one area of Crumlin has been reduced from five to four. There are reports that Sundrive Garda station will close and Ballyfermot Garda station——

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Rubbish.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I am delighted to hear it but I occasionally believe some of what I read in the Sunday newspapers and that was one of the stories reported.

Ballyfermot Garda station has been downgraded to a sub-station and no longer has a superintendent. The number of gardaí is sadly lacking in my constituency. A constant complaint is the absence of gardaí on the streets. In fairness, those who are based there are doing their best and doing a good job but there are simply not enough of them.

There has been an explosion in the number of apartments in my constituency. While this is welcome from the point of view of housing, where is the infrastructure to support those apartments? It simply is not there. Management companies are a thorn in the side of the people who live in these apartments. There appears to be no legal redress in terms of their adequate management.

Deputy Enright spoke about schools and I support everything she said. It is not unusual in parts of my constituency for the headmaster to find himself or herself cleaning out the lavatories occasionally. There is an absence of resources in certain areas, while bureaucracy and red tape surround every detail of the facilities and services provided for schools. In fairness, the constituency has acquired some new sports halls, which is most welcome. Inchicore has been given a very nice community hall but, unfortunately, there is no funding to keep it open for the community. While we have the facility, we do not have the people to run it.

I must mention farming and support everything Deputy Naughten said. In recent days, labelling and the import of products that leave much to be desired in quality terms have been highlighted. Farmers here are required to put the highest standards in place and they face heavy sanctions if they do not. We have no problem, however, allowing the importation of products with no labelling, country of origin or idea what substantial transformation has taken place. It is fine to impose standards and strict conditions on products produced here but we allow consumers to eat products from areas where we have no record of their origin.

We are also putting pressure on the farming community to compete with inferior products. We have the worst record for the numbers of farms producing organically. There are no plans for agriculture and no progress or innovation, although there are lots of promises.