Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call on the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to confirm his appointment by the President as Taoiseach and to move the motion. Ar ais chugat arís, a Thaoisigh.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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B’áil liom cead a chur in iúl, mar eolas don Dáil, gur chuir mé m’ainmniú mar Thaoiseach in iúl don Uachtarán agus gur cheap sé mé dá réir. I have informed the President of my nomination as Taoiseach and he has appointed me accordingly.

A Cheann Comhairle, when I became Taoiseach for the first time five and a half years ago, I used this speech to set out the direction for the Government. Back then, Brexit was the biggest challenge facing us as a country. We also faced significant problems in housing and health. By the time I stood down as Taoiseach in the summer of 2020, the biggest challenge facing us was Covid, a pandemic which brought the world to a standstill but from which we emerged united and stronger as a country.

I learned a lot from my first term as Taoiseach, especially during that painful time, and it showed me what was really possible when we mobilise the real power of the State - the true capacity of Government. Things that seemed impossible were achieved in a short amount of time as immovable obstacles were removed with the private, public and voluntary sectors working together for the common good. I believe that offers a blueprint for how we can overcome the great challenges of today, a direction of travel for this State in the 21st century.

A Cheann Comhairle, we are living in an age of emergencies - climate, the war in Ukraine, housing, the cost of living and child poverty. There are also threats to the economy and employment and to peace and partnership on our island. We are facing deep political and social crises and they affect every community in our country. We need to treat each of them as a national emergency and deploy the full resources of the State, the full machinery of Government, to make an immediate and real difference and that is what we are committed to do as a Government.

When the life of our nation was in peril, we joined together to protect one another. Today, the hopes and dreams of our nation depend on us fixing the problems we face. To do so, we need to be all out - to be radical or redundant. We must continue to act as a Government decisively, with both eyes focused on improving the lives of our citizens and serving the interests of our communities.

With that in mind,

Tairigim:

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

I move:

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

As Tánaiste and to the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin.

To the Department of Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan.

To the Department of Finance, Michael McGrath.

To the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe.

To the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney.

To the Department of Education, Norma Foley.

To the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin.

To the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien.

To the Department of Social Protection, Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.

To the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.

To the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.

To the Department of Health, Stephen Donnelly

To the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and to the Department of Justice, Simon Harris.

As Minister without portfolio, Helen McEntee, who it is anticipated will return as Minister for Justice when she returns from maternity leave next summer.

I propose to nominate Rossa Fanning SC for appointment by the President to be the Attorney General. I propose to nominate Deputy Hildegarde Naughton as Minister of State in the Department of the Taoiseach and as Government Chief Whip. I also propose to nominate the following to continue as Ministers of State in attendance at Government meetings: Deputy Jack Chambers as Minister for international and road transport and logistics at the Department of Transport, as well as Minister of State for postal policy at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications; and Senator Pippa Hackett as Minister of State for land use and biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The Tánaiste will chair the Cabinet sub-committee on economic recovery and investment and may attend meetings of the British-Irish Council.

In changing the name of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, I am doing so for a particular purpose. Far too many important public capital projects are taking far too long, including schools, social housing, hospitals, Garda stations and public transport projects, among others. I want this Department to bring about a step change when it comes to the execution and delivery of the national development plan, Project Ireland 2040.

Next week, the Government will meet as usual and I will present the names of Ministers of State for approval.

There are a number of pressing challenges that will define the rest of our term in office. First among these is housing. We must do whatever it takes to solve this social crisis and reverse the trend of rising homelessness and falling home ownership. We must apply the same spirit of determination, action and immediacy that we saw during the pandemic to this great challenge of today. We will leave no stone unturned. No option will be taken off the table without due consideration. Housing for All is a comprehensive plan and, working with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, I will do all I can to drive it forward. We need to clear bottlenecks to turn the tens of thousands of unactivated planning permissions into new homes over the next two years. We need to reduce dereliction dramatically and bring down rents in real terms.

The second challenge is taming inflation and bringing the cost of living under control. In the months ahead, we will assess the challenges facing our citizens, whether to do with the cost of energy, childcare, education, rent or healthcare. We will take account of price developments and adjust policies accordingly.

The third part of our collective mission must be ensuring the best start in life for every child. As I outlined earlier, our focus must be on reducing child poverty and improving well-being. Our vision is to make Ireland the best country in which to be a child. We must give everyone the best start in life, empowering them to make the most of that start through education, equal opportunities and good jobs to work towards a better future. As a Government, our energy and ideas will be used to improve access to therapies and provide more special needs education. I will put in place a new unit in the Department of the Taoiseach to co-ordinate this approach, working closely with the Ministers, Deputies O'Gorman, Foley, Humphreys, Harris and Stephen Donnelly, among others.

Our fourth ambition is to become energy independent by harnessing our untapped renewable energy resources. This will be our moonshot for the 21st century - something to strive for, not because it is easy but because it is hard. Recalling Ardnacrusha and the spirit of the Free State, this will be our Shannon scheme 2.0. I will work very closely with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to do what needs to be done, including the timeframe, the resources needed to make it happen and developing the capacity of the Department of the Taoiseach on climate action. It is a project that will go beyond the life span of this Government and into that of the next Government and the one after that. It will be worth doing and it will bring enormous benefits to our economy, environment and regions.

Another ambition is to build safer communities and safer streets and improve our national security. We will build on the work under way to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. We will provide additional resources to the Garda and the Defence Forces, as well as passing new laws to ensure we apprehend criminals and deal with them appropriately.

We also need to ensure balanced regional development, whether through the national broadband plan, the regeneration of our rural communities or ensuring a better future for those involved in farming and fishing. We will continue to adopt a town-and-village-first approach.

All of these ambitions are achievable, but only because of our economic policies, our pro-enterprise, pro-trade and tax-competitive approach, our sound management of the public finances and our decision to be at the heart of the European Union. With the steady leadership of the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath, Paschal Donohoe and Simon Coveney, I am confident this will remain the case. Ireland must once again become a place where it is possible to dream of home ownership, of a better life and of a better Ireland. More importantly, it must be a place where these dreams can be realised.

Next year marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, an historic agreement that brought peace to our island and gave hope to people who were living in constant uncertainty and fear. In recent years, various things, some foreseen and some not, have weakened relationships crucial to the maintenance and strengthening of that peace. The efforts of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs will be crucial to this work, which is something I will share responsibility for in the weeks and months ahead. We must work together to re-establish the Good Friday Agreement institutions in the North. We must set aside our differences, forgive past mistakes on all sides and seek a new beginning in a spirit of friendship and understanding.

New Year's Day marks the 50th anniversary of Ireland becoming a member of the EEC, now the European Union. It is the greatest peace process and most successful economic project in history and today is helping to protect democracy, enhance workers’ and women’s rights and protect our environment. Our commemoration of this event should recognise the benefits EU membership brought to Ireland, and what we do to help others today. We will also recommit to wider enlargement, deeper integration and new areas of co-operation.

In the coming months, the Government will also respond to the recommendations of the citizens’ assemblies on gender equality, biodiversity and local government in Dublin.

Next year marks an important centenary, namely, the 100th anniversary of Ireland joining the League of Nations and finally taking her place among the nations of the world. It was the fulfilment of a dream that inspired generations of patriots and marks a fitting end to the decade of centenaries.

The final Secretary General of the League of Nations was an Irish man and diplomat, Seán Lester. A courageous friend of refugees, Lester should inspire us to show courage and initiative in how we welcome refugees today. We are living through a time of great conflict and crisis, where the brutal aggression of a world power against its smaller neighbour has made history itself pause in uncertainty. We promised the people of Ukraine we would stand with them when it was easy to make such promises. Today we renew that promise and tell the people of Ukraine that we will stand with them even when it is very hard.

Next year also marks the centenary of some of the worst events of the Civil War, following on from some dark times in 1922. As a people we have done much in recent years to come to terms with the terrible events of that time; we have remembered the shared trauma with empathy and respect for all sides and all traditions. As a State we need to acknowledge and atone for the wrongs done on all sides, so we can finally heal the wounds and scars from that time. I look forward to working with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the expert advisory group to find an appropriate way of ending a century of hurt on both sides and allowing us finally to move to reconciliation.

We will work to strengthen relations with our major partners, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, as we face these challenges head-on. Throughoutour history our greatest resource has been our people. Let us give everyone a fair chance. Let us make sure that when it comes to the best start in life, the chance to own a home and the opportunity to achieve something meaningful, we are making it possible to dream big dreams and make them a reality.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I am pleased to confirm that we will vote to support the Taoiseach's proposal to nominate members of the Government.

The Government reflects the shared commitment of our three parties to an ambitious programme across the full term of this Dáil. Tugann na hainmniúcháin agus na moltaí de bhaill an Rialtais léiriú ar dhíograis roinnte na bpáirtithe Rialtais an obair chuimsitheach uaillmhianach atá idir lámha againn a thabhairt chun críche. I gcodarsnacht leis an bhFreasúra, creidimid go bhfuil ár dtír láidir agus gur féidir léi a bheith níos fearr fós fad is nach nglacann an Freasúrsa go bhfuil aon dul chun cinn déanta in aon ghné de shaol na tíre seo. Tá gach duine ainmnithe agus molta le haghaidh oifige i ndiaidh a gcumais agus a ndúthracht a thaispeáint chun Éire níos láidre agus cothroime a chinntiú agus a sholáthar. Oibreoidh gach duine díobh le chéile ar chlár soiléir gníomhach a sheasann i gcodarsnacht le polasaithe diúltacha millteacha daoine agus páirtithe eile.

To be returned as a Member of this House and nominated to high office is an honour and a responsibility. We are in government not to keep things as they are but to help our country to progress; to address the needs both of today and the years ahead and to be both honest and ambitious in serving our growing and diverse society. This was reflected in our agreed programme and in the priorities of each Minister in government. Time is not available to go into every element of the Government's work and repeat many of the debates we have here each day. I will, however, address a number of special priorities.

My decision to take up the roles of Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence reflects the fact my party and the Government view these as critical to our nation. At this moment of ongoing threat against European democracy, maintaining and building on Ireland's role will be central to my work. Many vital discussions will be held in the next two years and Ireland will be advocating for a Europe, which works with urgency and ambition to expand its role. We will support democracy and the rule of law, leaving no doubt where our country stands on these fundamental issues. It is my intention to strengthen our support for Ireland's international, economic, cultural and academic impact, ensuring we go further in reaching out to both existing and new networks of individuals of groups who wish to engage with Ireland in its modern diversity. I look forward to working with our excellent diplomatic corps in the work ahead.

Nearly a quarter of a century after the victory of democratic politics represented by the Good Friday Agreement and the referendums, we have done too little to fulfil the promise of what Seamus Mallon so wisely termed, "a new dispensation". The restoration of the democratic institutions in Belfast is a core priority for us. We will continue to work in good faith and urgency to resolve the blockages to restoration. I have no doubt but that our colleagues in the European Union will continue in their commitment to finding a way of implementing agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union. It is in the interests of everyone for us to move on to the more important work of delivering economic development for the benefit of all.

It is an honour to take the position of Minister for Defence. The loss of Private Seán Rooney and the injuries to Trooper Shane Kearney this week are another reminder to us of the service of Óglaigh na hÉireann to our democracy and values. At our toughest moments, they stood against those who would destroy our democracy and, internationally, they have brought great honour to our country. I am very conscious of the many issues facing our Defence Forces and I will work with my colleagues to focus on improving the quality of working life for those who wear the uniforms of Óglaigh na hÉireann. I look forward to working with the leadership of our Defence Forces, the various representative bodies and the wider community in helping to modernise and strengthen their work.

By every available measure, our economic situation today is dramatically better than it was two and a half years ago. Ireland has moved into a recovery faster and more comprehensively than any comparable country. The very reason we are in a position to invest in public services is that our work to limit job losses and support recovery has been highly successful. The exchange of roles by Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe reflects the agreement of our parties to respect balance within the Government, once the Office of An Taoiseach rotated.

Our core fiscal policy will continue to be to support a strong economy and use the resources it generates to implement sustainable improvements in critical public services and investments. We are going to continue with urgent work to address issues such as insurance costs and other costs which impact on every business and household. We are also going to move forward with reforms to significantly speed up delivery of critical infrastructure central to supporting to our economy, combatting climate change, and building new homes. The Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe, have worked well together. This particularly showed itself both in the preparation of budgets and in the development of the economic recovery measures which have helped so many through the pandemic and in the months afterwards. I have no doubt that this strong co-operation will continue.

Delivering a step change in the provision of new homes is an absolute priority for this Government. We have already initiated a new era in social and affordable housing. We will reform planning laws so that objections are dealt with both speedily and fairly, challenging the growing impact of unreasonable delays and blockages that prevent essential housing. During this week's confidence debate on the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, it was clear that there were not even the beginnings of a credible alternative to his plan. I have no doubt that in the rest of our term, he will continue to drive new construction and defeat Opposition representatives when they make themselves available for substantive debate rather than the sound bites they prefer.

The expansion of investment of education is a priority for us.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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You should be over in the Gaiety.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, has overseen a steady reduction in class sizes, a radical increase in the number of schools included in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, programme, an expansion of supports for pupils with special needs and the beginning of the largest programme of school refurbishment and construction in our history. She will continue this work and will also bring forward a reform of the leaving certificate that reflects the challenges and opportunities that young people face in today's world.

I would like to acknowledge the work of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, his Ministers of State and the officials of the Department of Health in both responding to the pandemic and working to address longer-term concerns. Health will continue to be a priority for this Government and it will be a central concern for our work across the Government. We must address the impact of the pandemic on waiting times and move forward with developing critical new services throughout the country, in particular, in the fields of women's health services, mental health services and disability supports.

Our family farmers remain critical to rural and community life in our country. The wider food industry represents a sector which gives secure well-paid employment throughout the country, and is one area where our indigenous industries are world leaders. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has led his Department in delivering important supports and reforms in the past two years. The new legislation for pricing transparency and fairness marks a new moment for farming. The commitment to support farmers in achieving secure and sustainable incomes will remain at the core of his work.

As everybody in this House will acknowledge, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has been an extremely efficient and effective Chief Whip. He has ensured that we have enacted a major body of legislation and he has also been a very effective Minister of State in developing sporting facilities and support throughout the country. In moving to the role of Minister of State attending Cabinet with responsibility for transport, aviation and logistics, he will be responsible for a critical element of our commitment to both improve public services and infrastructure and decarbonise our economy. We need both public and private transport to make a major contribution to achieving the urgent climate targets which we have agreed. This includes the road haulage sector, which is so important to everything in our economy, but sometimes is overlooked.

I had not intended to respond directly to today's speeches, but it is important to address the comments made by the Leader of the Opposition, Deputy McDonald, this morning. I think she has confirmed that according to Sinn Féin, it finds nothing positive to comment about in our country, nothing has ever been achieved, and there is no progress to be acknowledged.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a cold, harsh cynicism to be found in Sinn Féin's comments today. Today must seem quaint to them in comparison to the non-stop carousel we have seen from them-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Go and get a job in the Gaiety.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----in trading both elected and ministerial offices in Stormont. When Deputy McDonald claims, as she did with energy earlier today, that we claim everything is fine and want to change nothing, she is, of course, ignoring everything we have been saying. We very acutely understand the need to provide more housing for people to rent or buy.

We see that people need help with rising bills or access to essential health services. However, unlike Deputy McDonald, we believe in taking action.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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It is stand-up now.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Oliver Callan, eat your heart out.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The true divide in politics is between those who see problems and want to solve them and those who simply want to exploit them. This is a Government determined to take on even the most complex and difficult problems, to support a strong society and strong economy, to show respect for others and to work constructively with the mandate we have from the Irish people.

In two and a half years, we have helped our country in ways which any fair commentary would acknowledge and in doing so, we showed our commitment to the best values of public service. We understand how much more is still to be achieved and each of our parties, as well as every person nominated to serve as a Minister, is determined to deliver for the Irish people.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I want to focus and concentrate in my contribution to the debate tonight on the role of the Green Party in this Government and what we intend doing in the next two years. I do so remembering, critically, two and a half years ago when we joined the Government and agreed a programme for Government, that the leader of the European Green Party, whose assessment would be well informed because we are in government in many countries in Europe, said that our programme for Government was the greenest programme that they had seen. Greens are not in government except in Europe and, therefore, we are at the centre of the green transition. They said it was the most extensive, most ambitious green programme that any Green party in government had promised to try and deliver.

In recent weeks when it came to discussion about ministerial places, we were clear in saying we want to retain the positions we have because I believe our Ministers are working effectively, are delivering and can do much good for the country in the next two years. It takes two and a half years even to learn the ropes of how a Department works and how the system works. My colleagues have done that and they now have to focus on using that experience to deliver. I want to set out some of the various aspects of the work that we have to do.

First, on climate, I listened with respect to Deputies Bacik, Paul Murphy and others who raised the issue of concern which I share that our climate emissions are still rising. Reading it in the media today, it is fair commentary. It is a concern. At a time when we need to be reducing them by approximately 5% per annum, last year they increased by that amount. That has to turn around. That will turn around.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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It will not.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Yes, it will. We do not have an option.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Look at your colleagues.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We do not have an option in Irish law. The law we have written is one of the strongest climate laws in the world. We do not have an option. The Deputy will have heard the President of the European Commission, Dr. von der Leyen, speaking here only two or three weeks ago, saying this is the centre of the European strategy and a whole swathe of European law, which is steering us in that direction. We have to deliver on that ambition.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We have to, but the Government is not going to.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I believe that the Irish business community, but, more importantly, the Irish people, want to and will do this.

It takes time to turn this complete ship of State - all of it - around but we will do it. What is the best way? We learnt a great deal in Covid. We learnt that Government works best when it works in teams outside of the normal silos of Departments. We are busy establishing task force teams that bring in academic expertise, the agencies and other Departments and that act transparently by going on a regular basis through our national climate dialogues where we share openly what is being done.

Offshore wind, which, as the Taoiseach said, is the moon-shot opportunity, provides the really big potential for us. It is equivalent to what happened when the State was founded and we set up Ardnacrusha.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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What of the marine consents?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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This week, we will start to see the consents being provided for the first phase of offshore projects. Next spring, subject to them going through an auction process that we are establishing now, they will go into the planning system. The planning constraint is the biggest. We have to expand An Bord Pleanála dramatically and speed up our whole planning process because it is killing us at present, in housing and environment in a range of different ways. I believe we can and will do that.

All this will happen in the lifetime of this Government. We will start to see the second phase of projects in the south east and further in the east and then also into Cork, as well as Shannon.

It will be south and west. We will take into account the best environmental analysis. We must get the environmental planning of this right for it to work. It is the biggest risk and the biggest constraint. In the lifetime of this Government we will set the country on this course towards delivering what we call the enduring regime, which is the really large scale of power that particularly exists to the west and north west. We will design ways in which we can catch, store, share and ship that energy. We are right in the middle of doing that and it will be delivered. It is not just offshore. The scale of the challenge to meet the targets means we must deliver as much solar energy in the next three years as the amount of renewable power we rolled out in the last 20. I know that sounds impossible but it is what we have to do. It will involve every school building, tens of thousands of houses and the involvement of farmers. It will be backed up by batteries, pump storage and a whole range of other balancing capabilities and our business community will have a central role in being part of this new balancing energy system. We are not the only ones doing it. The Americans are going at it at speed. The Chinese are doing more than the rest of the world combined. All our colleagues in Europe are doing it. We are in a race to deliver this and we will and in our Department, in the agencies, in the companies and in the Irish people, we have the capability to do this.

In agriculture it is the same scale of change. It is diversification into agroforestry and new mechanisms of riparian forestry. Deputy McNamara is not here now but he mentioned anaerobic digestion earlier and we absolutely need to deliver that too.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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You cannot get a felling licence.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Yes, we need to change forestry. The felling licence system has been changed and we will deliver it.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It has left a bad taste.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We switch to tillage and to organic. It is happening. Look at the applications for the new environmental agri scheme - they have blown way beyond what was expected. Look at the farm visits that are taking place when organic farmers open their farms. There are hundreds of farmers going along because they realise they could save money by not having to spend so much on expensive fertiliser. To respond to what Deputy Lowry said earlier, we start by listening to everyone and by respecting everyone. I agree absolutely with the conviction that every place matters and every person matters. Country people want to do this just as much as city people, young and old.

On transport, our multi-agency task force met yesterday for the sixth or seventh time. We have 35 pathfinder projects that must be delivered by the end of 2025 because there has to be a dramatic shift, as our climate plan will show next week, towards public transport and especially to rural connecting bus services which are being rolled out around the country and are a huge success. Our young people are turning to the rural bus services in a way no-one could ever have expected. It is happening.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Those pathfinder projects are showing our local government system how we can act fast, use budgets well and get local support for what are going to be difficult decisions about reallocating space, doing things differently, taking out parking, creating high-quality bus corridors and other mechanisms to save us from gridlock as well as reducing our emissions. I am sorry for going on so long on climate but it is important.

I salute the incredible job my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, has been doing in managing how we look after 70,000 people

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Hear, hear.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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It is not easy. No-one wants anyone in a tent at all, least of all the Minister and his team, but they have done everything to do this in a compassionate way and we cannot stop. As President von der Leyen said, we need that stubborn optimism where we do take more. We do not know how long this war is going to go on and there is no certainty on this, but closing our door is not an option. I have every confidence in the Minister and his team to deliver on that and to take up what the Taoiseach said earlier about a focus on children in this country. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is changing our childcare system and people will see that next month when the cuts in childcare fees come through, thanks to the work he has done.

We will not stop there. As the Taoiseach said, let us focus on the original promise in our Constitution and get it right in how we help young families raise children.

I mentioned the critical job of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. It is also about bricks and mortar, the National Concert Hall, the Abbey Theatre and getting institutions right all over the country. The institutions also have to include culture online. The cynicism the Taoiseach spoke about is currently fostered because our journalism system is in real crisis due to the fact that everything is online and there is a divisive and hostile form of politics. The work of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, in some of the online and media commissions and work in support of the media industry will be critical.

The Minister of State, Deputy Pippa Hackett, has been a huge support for the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. We have worked well together. It is not easy because things are changing. We have a huge asset in the Minister of State, Deputy Hackett, who has already turned around the forestry licensing system-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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You cannot cut a bush.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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-----and shown how in government we could turn what was a disastrous system into a highly effective one. We need to do more work.

The most important project we have to do in government, which was in the programme for Government, is the land use review. It is a high-level overview of what is happening in our country in terms of the destruction of nature-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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What about the thistles?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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-----the pollution of our waters and ongoing carbon emissions.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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What about the county councils?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We now have to start planning. It is not just about climate. There are three ecological crises facing us, namely, climate, biodiversity loss and pollution. We have to face all three in our country.

The recent EPA figures from the south-east of our country show the water is saturated with nitrogen. That has to stop. Our waters should not only run free; they should be clean at the same time.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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What about the sewers?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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That is what we need to deliver. We are halfway through that project in this Government.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is socialist discrimination.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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We have done the first phase in terms of an evidence base, and we will do the next phase working in the same way, whereby we listen to different communities, sectors and academics. The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, will deliver on marine protected areas. We will have a science-based ecological understanding at the centre of what we do. That is what we are going to deliver in the next two years.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It is great to see the active interaction between Members, but maybe a little bit more order would help us get through the business more efficiently.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I begin by offering my good wishes to Deputy Leo Varadkar as he enters the Office of An Taoiseach for the second time. To lead Government is a huge honour and an even greater responsibility. We all want those who assume this responsibility to succeed on behalf of the people of Ireland.

Nearly three years ago, people voted for something new. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have passed power between themselves for a century and our people have paid a heavy price for this perpetual merry-go-round. There has been a financial crash and recession, jobs lost, livelihoods ruined, homes repossessed, austerity, vicious cuts to public services and communities made to carry the can for the mistakes of those at the top.

To break from the past, people reached hopefully for something they never had before, namely a Government that would put workers, families and communities first, with the determination to match their ambitions and hopes, seize Ireland's opportunities for the future and that would do what is necessary to improve their lives by fixing a broken housing system, tackling the crisis in our hospitals and working to build a fairer, sustainable and modern economy. Our people had a glimpse of what that might be, namely the historic chance of a Government for change.

Following the 2020 general election, the Government's collective inspect was to come together to block that demand for change. After decades of pretence, all it took to bring Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael together was the threat to their power and positions.

In the end, what mattered most to them was keeping others out.

With this coalition, the people have another Government that fits neatly into the pattern of 100 years. It is a tired Government that resorts again and again to excuses and alibis instead of bringing real leadership, ambition and fresh ideas. This coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party has stuck to the age-old, worn-out playbook that sees workers and families failed, short-changed and left behind. It is a Government that persists with a way of doing business that prioritises insiders, the well-got and the well-connected. It is a system that keeps ordinary people on the outside looking in, that keeps children with scoliosis waiting in agony for life-changing surgery, that leaves elderly people on hospital trolleys for days and has working families relying on food banks for a decent meal.

Back in 2020, I said that this broken Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael way of doing business means that Governments come and Governments go, but nothing really changes, and so it has come to pass. On the watch of this Government, the housing crisis has become a housing emergency, the crisis in our health service has deepened and, despite working very hard, thousands struggle to afford the basic necessities.

Of all this Government’s failures, its failure in housing is inexcusable. It has spent the past two and a half years recycling the very policies that created the housing emergency in the first place. We now see the impact of this emergency on education, health and our economy. As teachers and nurses cannot pay extortionate rent or save for a deposit, they are leaving. They are going to Britain and the Middle East and our schools and our hospitals struggle to recruit and retain staff.

Investment is threatened as workers are unable to take up good jobs with good salaries because they cannot afford secure housing. The human cost of the housing emergency is tragedy upon tragedy. It is now driving our young people out of Ireland in search of a better life. They look around and see houses they will never be able to afford to buy. They walk past fancy build-to-let apartments they will never live in. At hurling or camogie training or over a pint, they talk with their friends about their future and they just do not see one at home. Many parents will spend this Christmas watching their sons and daughters pack their bags to take long flights away from their families and home to live in Toronto, Boston or Sydney. Forced emigration is back with us again. Yet, this Government stands by and watches this happen.

There is no doubt that this Government’s failure to fix housing has done real damage to our society. It threatens our international reputation and our competitiveness but so much worse, it smothers the chance of our country reaching its full potential. Governments are here to serve the people. Governments should be judged on their record, and the record of this Government is one of spectacular failure.

The changeover of Taoiseach and the swapping of ministerial office will not change anything. Some 100 years ago, a great republican leader by the name of Liam Mellows said "men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed, or will not take a step that will mean removal in case of failure". Liam Mellows was right. The man sitting at the Taoiseach’s office is changing but there will be no change in policy, direction or delivery. Indeed, Deputy Varadkar’s first act as Taoiseach now is to reappoint Ministers who have failed to get the job done. He rewards incompetence and failure.

The truth is that we need a change of Government, not just a change of Taoiseach.

Is dromchlach é an rud atá ag tarlú inniu. Tá an fear atá in Oifig an Taoisigh ag athrú, ach ní bheidh aon athrú ar pholasaí ná ar threo an Rialtais. Teastaíonn athrú Rialtais uainn, ní amháin athrú Thaoisigh.

Of course, there is the real danger that people looking on at this meaningless shuffling of positions may become disheartened, but I am asking people everywhere not to surrender your belief in change. I am asking you not to give up or to give in. Hold tightly to your hope. A new and united Ireland is about you. A new and united Ireland is for you. A new day is on the horizon. We have never been so close to achieving real change. This hope is especially important for our young people, young people who want to be given their chance, young people who will achieve great things if we give them their moment. We need a Government that will work for them and with them to change Ireland into an Ireland that gives our young people a life of opportunity, an opportunity to stay and build a good life. The opportunity to travel and experience the world without being forced out and the opportunity to come home.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Our people, particularly our young people, deserve an ambitious Government that says it can do it, how we will do it and that we will get the work done. Sinn Féin wants to lead a Government for change, a Government that will house our people, that will build strong public services, achieve energy independence and advance Ireland’s journey to full nationhood.

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it is now time to write the next chapter. It is time to plan, to prepare for democratic, constitutional change. It is time for the Government to establish a citizens' assembly on Irish unity.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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As we move forward, we will look again to a spirit of partnership. The people of the North are entitled to a Government. We need the political institutions up and running, delivering for all communities. That is the best way to build progress and a better tomorrow. It is time to cast aside the small thinking of the past. It is time to do big things for Ireland and for our people. It is time to give those of us who are committed to change the chance to show what we can do. If I were given the chance to lead a Government of change, I would stand before the people and I would say this: we set out to end the housing emergency because we believe that every person has the right to a roof over their head and we will not stop until this is achieved.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We set out to build a fair health service for all of Ireland because we believe that every person has the right to treatment and to care and we will not stop until this is achieved. We set out to build our economy, our prosperity, because we believe all people are equal and are deserving of opportunity and we will not stop until this is achieved. We set out to end partition, to unite Ireland in our time, because we believe that we are stronger together and we will not stop until we achieve this. This is the type of ambition that Ireland needs and Sinn Féin is ready to lead, to govern and to deliver. We believe that people should be given a straight choice: the tired performance of this failed Government or Sinn Féin’s positive, ambitious, achievable vision for Ireland.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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So much has changed in the last three years. If the Taoiseach is so confident that his Government and his policies command the support of the people, then he should give them this choice in a general election. Let the people have their say and let the people choose who leads.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I want to start by offering my personal good wishes to those who have been appointed or reappointed today to Cabinet, and of course to the incoming Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar. However, on behalf of the Labour Party, I want to say that we cannot support this Cabinet, because it is not in truth a new Cabinet and there are no new ideas.

There is no change in the policies being offered by this Government. I am personally disappointed that there is no change in the gender balance of the Cabinet. We need more women in Cabinet, especially in a year when there will be a gender equality referendum, as we on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality have sought.

Above all else, we need real change and new vision in policies. Instead, what we heard from the incoming Taoiseach and, indeed, the new Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the Minister for Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, was an acknowledgement that the Government has failed to deliver. It has failed to deliver on housing, climate and addressing the challenge and scourge of child poverty. What we have seen from the Government through the first half of its term has been no shortage of ambitions, plans and targets, but a chronic lack of delivering outcomes. Halfway through the lifetime of this Government, this coalition of convenience, what we are seeing is a Government that appears content with serving up only half measures - on housing, climate, care and work.

With today's purely cosmetic changes in Cabinet at half time, we do not see any improvement. Like the World Cup final, whether it is Argentina or France that wins tomorrow, we know the reality is there will be no change in conditions for women, LGBT people or workers in Qatar, just as there is no change in the policies being offered by this Government whether it is Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael that holds the position of rotating Taoiseach. We will continue to see missed targets on housing and climate action and, shamefully, we will continue to see far too many children continuing to live in poverty or to be homeless, and this despite budget surpluses.

The Taoiseach's commitment to a new unit for child poverty will be meaningless unless there are adequate resources deployed and the sort of mobilisation of State capacity we saw during Covid to tackle the scourge of poverty among children and the scourge of homelessness. We need more State action and urgent intervention to address the real and glaring problems with the childcare and early years education system. We need delivery of the promised reduction in fees for parents and a genuinely universal and publicly funded childcare system. We need the roll-out of free general practitioner, GP, care from the Department of Health, particularly for children, and we need the scandal of children with disabilities waiting long months and years for assessments to be given the attention it deserves.

On climate, despite the fine rhetoric of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, what we see is a pattern of missed targets and delays, most recently in the publication of the climate action plan. It is still promised for next week but that will be after the Dáil has risen and we will no longer have the opportunity to hold the Minister to account on Ireland's missed targets on emissions. Across all Departments, what we need put in place are political structures to enable the repurposing of many large vacant buildings across the State to accommodate those fleeing war in Ukraine and elsewhere, rather than simply leaving this challenge to be addressed by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman.

I hope the Taoiseach will continue the positive work of the shared island unit. The restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the resolution of the protocol will continue to be key priorities for all of us across the House as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. I know all parties will work together in that regard.

On the Government side, however, we are not seeing sufficient new vision and change to address the serious crises in and failures to deliver on housing, care, climate and work that have characterised the first half of the Government's term in office. It seems that will continue to characterise Government responses to these crises through the next half of its term. Beyond the cosmetic change offered by this so-called halftime Government reshuffle, we need the sort of radical and substantial vision for change that was embodied in Tom Johnson's words more than 100 years ago when he outlined the Labour programme for an equal Republic, a Republic in which children would have an equal early years start, all children would be able to achieve their full potential, everyone would get a home and the level of care they need, and the State would step up and deliver the supports that are necessary in that social democratic and socialist vision for change, a vision that we in the Labour Party will continue to offer.

My colleague, Deputy Nash, will take our remaining time.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I congratulate the Taoiseach on his accession again to that office. I wish him and his ministerial colleagues well in their endeavours.

This year, we mark the centenary of the State. The Labour Party has always sought to put our country before the short-term interests of the party. Rarely has this been to our electoral reward. We helped to shape the institutions and stability of a young State under threat. In 1932, the transfer of power to Fianna Fáil, as mentioned earlier by the Taoiseach, was made possible by the Labour Party, in the national interest and the State's interest, at a very dangerous time for this democracy. The Labour Party is a patriotic party. Our contribution to the modernisation of Ireland is a proud one.

The Government, and its predecessor Administration, cannot be proud of these past six, almost seven, years of wasted prosperity and skewed priorities. In a country with bulging coffers, people ask why 250,000 children are experiencing deprivation and why owning a home is beyond the reach of far too many hard-working people. We have record homelessness, record rents and record house prices, yet the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and everyone else in the previous Government are returning to office without any change in policy. Throughout the past three years, we in the Labour Party have put forward constructive proposals on housing that have been ignored. It is always too little, too late from the Government. It eventually implemented rent freezes and an eviction ban but the action is always taken half-heartedly and in a half-baked fashion. We have argued cogently for more direct State building and increased public investment. Instead, €700 million of capital allocated to the Department of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, remained unspent at the end of November.

I offer the Taoiseach and his ministerial colleagues a challenge. The reason for our housing crisis is simple. It is caused by a lack of building and a lack of new homes. Rising inflation and supply shortages are impacting on the capacity of the private market to deliver. There is no shortage of planning permissions. In Dublin city alone, there is permission to build nearly 30,000 homes. There is permission to build 5,000 homes in my home town of Drogheda. Speculators and developers are sitting on sites. The market has clearly failed and the Government's plan is failing. Instead of dismantling An Bord Pleanála as its signature policy, trying to strip local authorities of more powers and making democratic participation in our planning system more difficult, I offer the Government the simple idea that the State should simply build more homes and do so quickly.

If we are to believe the Taoiseach's words that he believes in the State, he should use the Land Development Agency to purchase compulsorily the sites with planning permission that remain undeveloped. If he means it when he says he is committed to the State, he must put the full resources of the State into delivering public homes and then pursue the long-term changes necessary to break the cycle of over-reliance on the market. The Government must invest in skills and training and establish a State construction company. It must use the available resources of the State to deliver, once and for all, enough homes.

Only the State - an entrepreneurial State - has the scale and the tools to fix this biggest and most immediate of our problems. The Taoiseach talks about mobilising the State but policy shows that is merely a slogan. The Government's brand of conservatism, rebranded as centrism, is not up to meeting this challenge. Today, we have not a reshuffle but a modest reset from a conservative Government whose suffocating conservatism is so deep-seated that it simply will not be able to meet the biggest challenges of our time. That will be the Government's undoing.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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This is an historic day in a Chamber that has seen much history since the Dáil was first convened 100 years ago. While it is the first time the office of Taoiseach is rotating between coalition partners, this arrangement has been entered into for party political interest rather than the national interest. In truth, the changeover will barely be noticed by the people outside this House whom we serve. Without any accompanying fundamental changes in policy or political priorities, this is change for the sake of political expediency rather than political purpose.

I acknowledge that the outgoing Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, worked diligently during his tenure in office. In doing so, he has undoubtedly made many personal sacrifices. I want to recognises those sacrifices today in his service to public life. It is also important to recognise and acknowledge the sacrifices his wife and family have made in supporting him in that service to public life. I hope he will now be in a position, as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, to accelerate the progress of the shared island initiative. I look forward to him bringing forward proposals in that regard in the coming months.

This is also a proud day for the incoming Taoiseach and his family and friends. On a personal basis, I wish him well. Nobody on this side of the House underestimates the depth and breadth of the challenges the country faces. Nobody thinks those challenges are easy to solve. It was a bit disingenuous of the outgoing Taoiseach to claim earlier that Opposition Members only want to exploit problems. Certainly we in the Social Democrats have consistently put forward solutions to the many big problems facing the country but too frequently there are rejected on ideological grounds.

Fine Gael has been in power for nearly 12 years, throughout which time there have been many promises to resolve the crises in housing and healthcare, in particular. Despite this, the problems have intensified. Those who bear the cost of the failure are ordinary working people and families who pay their taxes and should have a right to expect decent public services and that things actually work in this country. Too often, they simply do not work. It is the most vulnerable who especially bear this burden. These are, most shamefully, the growing numbers who are homeless, including the 3,500 children who will spend Christmas in hubs and hostels.

There are ever-increasing numbers in the locked-out generation, the first generation who will be worse off than their parents. In previous decades, single-income families with one worker on an average wage could aspire to lead a decent life, own a home, educate their children and have a secure job. Today, single people are forced to continue to live at home, house share or rent tiny apartments at exorbitant cost until they are in their 30s, 40s and even older. Older people worry about where they will live when they retire and how they will pay for it. Even couples on what were once considered decent wages are locked out of home ownership now. Many are again considering emigration.

The Taoiseach has desperately sought to evade responsibility for the housing disaster but even if we judge him not on the past 12 years but solely on the record of this Administration, it is clear the Government is failing. Since it assumed office in June 2020, two and a half years ago, house prices and rent have gone up steadily. How are people in the communities we all represent supposed to pay such prices? Today the Taoiseach told us his big plan on housing is to accelerate the implementation of Housing for All. He refuses to make any changes in the face of overwhelming evidence that his housing plan is simply not working. After nearly 12 years, Fine Gael still will not accept its housing plans have led to a housing disaster. The Taoiseach said he will do “whatever it takes”. That is not a policy. Saying he will do “whatever it takes” is simply not a sustainable policy.

For too long the Irish people have endured a situation in which healthcare is delayed, deferred and often denied with frequently devastating consequences. It is becoming more and more difficult to retain our excellent healthcare workers in a system that fails them too. Sláintecare can change that but implementation has been painfully slow. Why is there such resistance to reform? Who stands to benefit? It is not the Irish people. The Sláintecare plan is not radical. It sets out a blueprint to bring the health service into line with almost all other EU countries, where services are free at the point of delivery and people can attend a doctor, speech and language therapist or mental health service or access home care when they need to without worrying about cost or lengthy waiting lists. If that sounds revolutionary, it should not. Ireland’s two-tier model of healthcare is an outlier, not an exemplar.

Nowhere is that more evident than in our shamefully inadequate disability services. Children with disabilities and their families must battle from the day they are born. It is shocking that their biggest battle is often with the State for basic services like an assessment of need, essential therapies or a school place.

This abject neglect has disastrous consequences. Children's development is severely limited and they are prevented, of course, from reaching their full potential. I noted the Taoiseach namechecked this issue earlier but we need a Government that pays more than lip service to the rights of disabled people.

In much of Irish politics and public life, we see the corrosive effect of the golden circle; a fast track for insiders whose connections confer unfair advantage. We also regularly see a revolving door between politics and business with former Fine Gael Ministers, in particular, fans of reinventing themselves as lobbyists. The Social Democrats has consistently said that former Deputies and Senators who are now lobbyists should no longer have the run of this complex. Their automatic access-----

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is making scandalous allegations against people.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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-----to the Leinster House complex-----

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy should say it outside the House.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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-----must be revoked.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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One voice, please.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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I hope the Taoiseach will support the Social Democrats in moving an amendment to this effect in the long-promised legislation we are due to get from the Minister, Deputy McGrath. It has also been more than two decades since our ethics legislation was updated. We are told there are plans for this Government to do so. However, there were also plans to strengthen our ethics laws back in 2015 and they, of course, ran into the sand. The Social Democrats will work constructively with the Government if the Taoiseach is serious about improving ethical standards. Part of that reform must entail removing any doubt at all about the ability of the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, to investigate the decisions of Taoisigh when necessary.

Earlier, Deputy Emer Higgins surprised many of us by likening the Taoiseach to Santa. Maybe the Deputy was making reference to the rumours the number of Ministers of State will be increased by two - we will see about that. In any event, while I wish all of the newly-appointed Ministers well, even those Ministers would accept this was more the night of the blunt knives than the long knives. However, the reality is the country simply cannot afford the status quo. If we are to have any chance of meeting our climate targets, solving our housing disaster, reforming our health service and helping the most vulnerable in our communities cope with the rising cost of living, we need radical change, not more of the same.

We saw in recent years the best of what our society is capable of in an outpouring of support, empathy and solidarity as we faced unimaginable difficulties. Ireland is a great country with so much potential. I agree with the Taoiseach that we are not a failed State but we have failed policies being implemented by the Government that are simply exacerbating endemic societal problems which desperately need to be fixed. Instead of some cosmetic changes at the Cabinet table, we need real reform. We need to do things differently and we need a new politics informed by the principles and values of social democracy that prioritise prosperity and fairness for all of our citizens.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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When Deputy Leo Varadkar was being proposed for Taoiseach earlier, Deputy Higgins compared him to Santa Claus. Dr. Maitiú Ó Tuathail, for one, agreed; he texted "Leo always delivers". However, the truth is the Christmas figure that Varadkar most resembles is not Santa, but Ebenezer Scrooge.

Varadkar famously told The Irish Timesthat Tiny Tim should get a job. That sums up the cold-hearted Thatcherite ideology of Fine Gael. This will be a Government that puts the corporate landlords and big developers before those who are homeless or struggling to pay rent. It will be a Government that puts the energy companies' profits before the needs of people to heat their homes. It will be a Government that makes the right noises on ecological crisis abroad and then conveniently forgets about them in order to serve the interests of big agribusiness and big tech at home. It will be a Government which continues the campaign to undermine whatever is left of Irish neutrality in order to line Ireland up with NATO and European militarisation. We now have a Taoiseach who does not think that the ethics legislation or the Official Secrets Act apply to him. Richard Nixon said: "Well, when the President does it, that means it is not illegal." Replace "President" with "Taoiseach" and that is Varadkar's defence to leaking a confidential document to a political supporter. He thinks he can do whatever he likes as long as he says he did it while Taoiseach. While proposing Leo Varadkar for Taoiseach, Deputy Bruton said that he launched the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment. What an incredible rewriting of history to erase the campaigning of many heroic women, who were fighting for repeal while Varadkar was still opposing abortion even in cases of rape. That struggle for bodily autonomy will continue. It will not be led by right-wing neoliberals, but by socialist feminists. It is movements from below that have delivered the positive change we have won over the past decade, from marriage equality to water charges to repeal.

This Scrooge Government will be haunted by major movement of opposition. The 20,000 people we saw on the streets a few months ago protesting about the cost-of-living crisis gives a glimpse of the movements that are possible, for action on the housing crisis, to shield people from the cost-of living crisis, for action to match words on climate and biodiversity, and in opposition to militarisation. Within those movements and among working-class people generally, attention is increasingly focusing on the next election and the need to clear out Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The parties of the establishment are in deep decline. The rearranging of a couple of deckchairs on the Titanictoday is an expression of the weakness of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, not their strength. This could well be an historic day. We may have seen the last ever Fianna Fáil Taoiseach. An enormous opportunity is approaching; the chance to finally, after 100 years, have a government without Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. Enormous responsibility rests with Sinn Féin. More and more people are looking to that party for fundamental change. We have seen this sort of hope before. The Labour Party and the Green Party raised people's hopes and then dashed them by going into coalition with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. We need to break the cycle of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rule, and the cycle of betrayal of those who are looking for change. I appeal to Deputy McDonald to rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I ask her to commit not to put them back in power, and instead fight for a left government, which can put the question of fundamental change on the agenda - one that serves working-class people, small farmers and young people, instead of the developers, big agribusiness and the energy companies. I ask her to fight for a government that is committed to eco-socialist change; to banning evictions, building public housing and reducing rents; to introducing price controls and nationalising the energy companies; to repealing the Industrial Relations Act and introducing a minimum wage of €15 an hour; to introducing free, frequent expanded public transport, a programme of retrofitting and quality green jobs; to ending Ireland's tax haven status; and to using the enormous wealth in this country to guarantee a decent quality of living for all.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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A number of very important debates will happen next year. These debates are on very complex and quite difficult issues, but I believe these difficulties are not impossible to overcome. Successive governments have failed to address them in any meaningful way.

These debates surround the issues of drug reform and end-of-life choices. During this week the Joint Committee on Justice published a report recommending a different approach to drugs for personal use. It is in the Government's power to change policy that will have a profound effect on all our citizens. To except the status quois to compound failure.

This Government still resides over a two-tier health system. It is a system in which hundreds of thousands of people still have to wait for medical procedures and intervention and in which 50% of citizens still have to get private insurance. That is not a system that works. I do not believe this Government is capable of ending the inequalities in health and in our society.

Today is largely cosmetic. It is a revolution we need, not a reshuffle.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Reference was made in various speeches this morning to the global crises of Covid and cost of living with which this Government has had to contend. These were big shocks but the Government had some advantages in dealing with them. Economic buoyancy was one. Cheap money was another. These are advantages the Government will not be able to rely on in its second half. The backdrop in 2023 will be a backdrop of international capitalist recession - a recession from which Ireland will not be immune.

A glimpse of the challenges that will be presented was shown when the new Taoiseach stated that job losses in the tech sector will be measured in the thousands rather than in the hundreds. There are times in history when multiple private sufferings remain no longer as private sufferings but coalesce and burst to the surface as collective grief, collective action and collective resistance. In the past month, collective resistance against the effects of the cost-of-living crisis bearing down on working people has burst to the surface in the form of general strikes in both Belgium and Greece. On this island, it has burst to the surface in the form of a wave of strikes within the national health service in Northern Ireland. I do not know whether collective resistance will burst to the surface in this State in the remaining two years of the life of this Government. I know there is a multiplicity of private sufferings around the housing crisis, around the cost-of-living crisis and around the oppression of women which remains ever-present. I also know there are many people who will cast their votes against Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens come the next general election but who cannot afford to wait for change. I would encourage those people to get organised and to fight back to campaign for change. I wonder whether the arrival of the gas and electricity bills in the new year might be a time when people choose to do so. Either way, the commentators today will focus on the changes at the top as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael swap the big jobs but I suspect that the leaders at the top will look on with some concern as 2022 changes to 2023 and the rumblings from below in Irish society that anyone with an ear to the ground can hear these days start up again against the backdrop of a very different economic situation.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak here this evening on this historic occasion. First, I offer my sincere congratulations personally to Leo Varadkar on his elevation to Taoiseach once again and compliment Micheál Martin on the work he did over the past two and a half years.

Listening to all the debate today, I will say at the outset we have a great country and we have great people but we have some real issues we need to resolve. I was taken by the remarks on the appointment of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to the Department of Public Expenditure and NDP Delivery and Reform.

We have a great national development plan but in the implementation and delivery of it we are failing the people. It is also coupled with the problems in housing and in health. We cannot move projects quickly enough to get them done to meet the demands there. I will give a few examples of where we could improve things. There was an announcement yesterday by the Minister for Health about the cancer centre for Galway. The previous week there was the announcement of an elective hospital for Galway and I think one for Cork as well. These have been in the pipeline for a good while. We also have an emergency department in Galway for which enabling works have been done, but for which no planning permission has been applied. The root cause of this slow process is the fact everything we do takes a year or 18 months of appraisal, cost analysis, or whatever before any real work gets done. The example I will give, which the Minister knows well, is the radiotherapy unit in Galway. It is a fine building but from inception to completion it will be a 17-year programme. I will wager that if we take 17 years to deliver the rest of that infrastructure, and I am only talking about Galway, we will be in right trouble in terms of delivering our health. We all know that, so we need to change something about the way we are doing our business.

I therefore say to the incoming Ministers that in doing something like this and making this change, we must also make a change to the way we do our business. Even if we must take shortcuts in the short term to get jobs going it is well worth the risk. Everybody tells me that with health delivery, it is not about money but infrastructure and if we have the proper infrastructure we will get the proper consultants, make a better job of it and have a better society as a result. Our patients deserve to be treated with dignity, especially in the Saolta Hospital Group where a person's chance of recovery from cancer are less than they are in any other part of Ireland. That is wrong. It is something we should prioritise and no spending code can justify delaying making that right. That is the first part.

I listened to the Minister, Deputy Ryan; he speaks passionately. The better energy, warmer homes scheme is a great initiative but it is taking an age to get it delivered. People are waiting up to 12 months for work to start once it is approved. We must do something about that. One of the causes of that is we are not using the potential we have within our local authority system because we are not financing it properly. All we are doing is foisting further and further schemes on them without giving them the funding to resource the people who need to deliver these schemes. They are all good schemes. The Croí Cónaithe scheme brought in by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is a great scheme. It is something we in the Regional Group of Independents have been advocating for for a long time. It is now in place but the resources in the local authorities are not there to actually deliver on it.

We are going to face perhaps €5 billion in costs for remediation of our housing stock and all that is going on there. We are talking about how we are going to do it and a levy on concrete products and all of that. However, we have missed out on how to ensure it does not happen again. We need to have a proper building control system in this country. We have the regulations, we have all the legislation, maybe too much, and we have all the certification but we have nobody dealing with building control. When I asked the Minister's office lately the number of building control officers in the country he did not know and I was told I would have to go back to each local authority to find out. In Galway there is probably one officer, or maybe one and a half, doing building control. If we are serious about not having another epidemic of problems within the construction industry going down the road and billions more of taxpayers' money having to be spent, now is the time to put it right. Now is the time to put the building control in place. Now is the time to concentrate on ensuring it does not happen again. We must of course deal with the legacy issues we have; they need to be addressed.

Regional development has been mentioned as an aspiration, a vision or whatever.

We need to deliver on it. In the last Government, I was lucky to have been involved in the development of broadband. I want to acknowledge the work of Deputies Bruton and Naughten, who worked with the Taoiseach and the Government in bringing it forward. It is taking a long time to deliver it. We need to fast track that for the regions.

In respect of transport, we talk about the difficulties in delivering things. One of my pet subjects is phases 2 and 3 of the western rail corridor. No planning permission or consent is required. Like the line that is being built between Limerick and Foynes, it can be done quickly. We do not need a Government in place in Northern Ireland for us to decide to build a railway line which will serve the western region to Foynes and Waterford. There are a lot of issues like that. We have the ingredients to put them right, but we need a solid implementation plan.

I think about the likes of the National Building Agency, which was established at a time we were building huge numbers of social housing. It built, took control of and programmed houses. It dealt with procurement, construction and certification. Housing was built to the highest standards. We need to peel back a lot of the layers we have built up, get back into the trenches and start building houses again. Local authorities have a key role in their reserve to help us do that around the country. We need to finance them to make sure they have the resources to deliver what we want them to deliver. We have an opportunity to have a great country again. We have problems, namely, housing and health.

Yesterday I met one of the Ukrainians who has come to this country, who is now working and delighted to be here. They have two daughters in school and everything is going great for them. However, at the start of the war we estimated we would take in 100,000 Ukrainians this year. When we reached 65,000, we were under so much pressure we did not know what to do. We need to do more planning in respect of emergency accommodation. We need to cut out the layers of bureaucracy so that we can get things done quickly. We have to bring in as many Ukrainians as need to come here. I know Ukrainians who are working all over the place, and we need them to work here. However, it is time to pull back the layers, be courageous and do some of the work immediately so that we can deliver as quickly as possible.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I too want to wish every Minister and the Taoiseach the very best. I will not support them in the vote, if one is called, but I wish them well. As I said, during this holy season of Advent I wish a happy and peaceful Christmas to everybody in the House, including the staff and families at home.

Today's announcement is a game of musical chairs, where the self-interest of every Government Deputy is prioritised. Incompetence gets rewarded. Not a single Minister is ever held accountable for not delivering, or for any form of wrongdoing or wasteful spending of taxpayers' money. The legacy of the children's hospital is an unbelievable scandal. Sick children are waiting for all kinds of procedures. It is being built in the wrong place and is taking a long time to complete. The Taoiseach said it would be built by 2020 for €800 million. He knew that would never happen, but he wanted to announce the site and did so. It is a shocking indictment.

All Government speakers referred to children. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, referred to young people taking up the TII rural link scheme with gusto. What else will they take? They do not have the DART, Luas or anything else. The Minister told them they could all live in the country with ten cars in a village because people could carpool. He has been invited by many of us to visit our constituencies. I have nothing personal against him. He knows Tipperary well; his ancestors came from there. He should see the hills of Hollyford and Killinaule. He should visit west Cork, which Deputy Collins represents, and Kerry, which is represented by Deputies Michael and Danny Healy-Rae.

It is just sheer inaccessibility for young people. They have to have a car, otherwise they cannot go to college, work or anywhere. You tell them to take up with gusto and of course they will, because they will take up anything. If my colleague from Waterford came along with his cargo bike and was with good friends, two or three of them would jump onto the front. They go any way to get somewhere because they cannot go anywhere. They are just forgotten about. Our young people are being left behind in every which way. I had two or three nurses in my office last week getting forms stamped, heading off to Australia. They are qualified young people with their lives ahead of them. That is what is wrong.

As I said, I spent some time in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin recently. I had excellent care in the public hospital and I want to put that on record. The majority of the staff were from India and elsewhere. The nurses and all the rest were just tremendous. We are just in a brain drain and a swap-around. I have a qualified nurse at the moment back from Australia. They are making it so difficult for her – Joanna is her name – to get back registered as nurse. We are crying out for nurses and they are ran off their feet to keep wards and everything else committed. Why? She was told if she was from one of the agencies from India or wherever she would be straight in. She has to go through an arduous procedure. This country is tied up in bureaucracy.

We had three nice, ambitious speeches from the three new leaders. Today, I said it was like “Lanagan’s Ball”. It will be Hannigan’s wake for a lot of people, if we are not careful. All we want is the snuff and for someone to do the caointe cáin and there are plenty of them here as well. The Tánaiste, Deputy Martin, would know the proper Irish spelling of caointe cáin. Plenty of them as well. All of the grim reapers will be coming. The Government is just squeezing the lifeblood out of people. The Irish people are energetic and they will not be knocked down. They are energetic, enthusiastic and vibrant like their leaders were in 1916, 1921 and 1922. We look forward to commemorating. The Tánaiste came to Tipperary to give the oration for the Liam Lynch’s 100th anniversary in April. We look forward to commemorating the leader of the Irish Republican Army in the Knockmealdown Mountains close to homestead. We look forward to it, however it is with embarrassment.

I stood well back, out the backyard, last week celebrating the Free State because of issues that have happened linger with me. However, apart from that, we do not deserve to have the honour of celebrating because we are not fulfilling the roles, aims and objectives they spilled and gave their lifeblood away for. I talk about Collins and they are both below Collins. It is such a farce. The two of you are kind of a hybrid. I think the Minister, Deputy Ryan, told them to do hybrid on this and will get the mic every second word. It was farcical. He was spinning in his grave because they do not represent the values of what he and all the republicans gave their life for. That is my honest feeling and that is what people are telling me out on the street, in the laneways and in my clinics. They must be telling them, unless their cluaiseanna are dúnta completely, they wear earmuffs or they walk around with headphones on and do not want to meet anyone.

However, they will have to meet them soon enough. They will be waiting in the long grass. The grass is growing in Tipperary and it is growing well. This frost now will set it back a bit but I believe it will come back stronger and the roots will reach. We do not need the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. As I said earlier, we are not allowed even to cut enough holly for the crib.

The Minister talked about reinvigorating forestry. Every farmer that has a 30-year contract has a long contract to wait for his or her money. I said this before. Any person who plants anything, whether it is potatoes - which my family were renowned for, McGrath’s spuds - beets, which we had, or carrots have a long wait. I will get some big ones for the Minister if he would like. They are nice with a bit of butter and salt. I am just making the point that anyone who has entered into the contract for forestry and planted in good faith into the schemes have a bitter taste. They will never again grow a tree or anyone belonging to them or their neighbours because they cannot get the licence to cut them. Why should they have to get a licence? You reap what you sow. My God, the Government will reap what it sows too and that date is not far away either. But sin scéal eile. If they plant the trees, they should be allowed to cut them. Timber factories and industries are crying out. The price of timber is going up because we have to import it. It is a mockery that we cannot get through this. We brought in legislation, which I voted against, and my colleagues were annoyed with me. They said any legislation was better than none. That was bad legislation and it was useless, toothless and fruitless. It has not and will not deliver.

I refer to the hospital waiting lists and the housing lists. We are a wealthy country. Sorry if my remarks have been oppressive. Have they got permission from their masters in Europe?

They did not have the gumption to stand up to them and or the interest in building the houses. The Tánaiste’s party had a proud record of building houses in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as well as in the noughties when people got naughty all over the place and they wanted money, money, money. They went off in Hally's trucks from Ardfinnan. I do not know how they would be travelling now, if Deputy Eamon Ryan was there, but there were 40 men in a back of a lorry in the cold. There were firms sitting in them, going down to Kilkenny and into Clonakilty to build schemes of houses under Fianna Fáil Governments. We have failed spectacularly to build them.

As for bureaucracy, now we talk about changing planning laws. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, talked about a 10% or a tenfold increase on the amount of renewables. We have heard it all before. It is so far away. I want renewables, renewable energy,including wind energy, solar energy and wind from wave power. When will it happen? It is all tied up in knots and reams. There are the mandarins and the Departments and the Minister’s friends in An Taisce. He spoke of stopping people objecting but there was no mention of An Taisce, which is the biggest quango of all because it held up a factory in County Kilkenny. However, the former Taoiseach called it out in the Dáil one day in a reply to me and now the factory is under construction, thank God. It had no issues with the plant, the emissions or anything else, but it had a fundamental idea that we had too many cows, so it stopped a plant and 200 high-quality jobs. We were lucky to hold on to the Dutch cheese firm that was doing it.

The Government should listen and think when divides the Cabinet into subcommittees. It should think and it should get things moving, because they are not moving. They are moving in their heads. They are moving paper from office to office. They are back and forward, over and hither and nothing is happening. They are going from Billy, to Tom, to Ned, to Jack, to Mary.

Now the Government has a new Chief Whip, who I wish well. I look forward to working with her and I worked with all of the Whips. I do not know how hard she will be in terms of waving the whip but I wish her well. I thank Deputy Chambers for when he was the Whip, because we co-operated on many issues. If the Government wants support, it will be from this side of the House but it has to have meaningful, realistic policies, not balderdash and poppy schemes, such as setting whatever the Minister said to set in the south-facing windows. They would be fairly well perished tonight on the south-facing windows, as they would have been last week.

I will go back to the issue of climate change before I finish. I am not a climate change denier but I will say again something I said last week. I remember breaking ice with my sister 48 years ago so that the cows could drink the water from the pond. We had to break it with a sledgehammer. We always have had climate change but now it is all about control of the people. It is an absolute con job. The Government just want to frighten the poor, misfortunate people out there tonight who cannot heat their homes-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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You are a denier-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Foreign stations are butting in again. Can they not turn off and get a different dial? Dial in some Al Jazeera or something else the Deputy is supporting.He was supporting Russia a few years ago.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That was blatant change denial.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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He was supporting Russia a few years ago.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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He says it is a con job one minute and then he says-----

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Please do not interrupt the Deputy.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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I did not interrupt him. The Government is controlling the people. They cannot heat themselves tonight in their homes, given the price of home heating oil and then there is the carbon tax on top of that. It is such a time to put on carbon tax when people are under pressure anyway. Thankfully, we have seen oil prices go down and there has been a bit of relief. There is control there. They have the toolbox given to them by their masters in Europe but they would not open the damn thing and use the tools inside it.

Everyone is calling for an election. I am not looking for an election because that would be like Santa Claus voting for Christmas. However, I do not believe that the Government is Santa Clause because first we cannot get the holly for the crib----

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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-----and the little presents under the Christmas tree would be very scarce. The bosca would be full inside only with a bit of wrapping paper. It might not even be Christmastime.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Bíodh Nollaig shona agaibh go léir.