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Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: How many seats did the Labour Party end up with in 1985?

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Will you inform the House how many seats the Labour Party won? To what was it reduced?

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: If you like-----

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Of course. I thought the Deputy was volunteering an answer.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: The bottom line is that the Labour Party was wiped out in 1985. Did that precipitate a general election? It did not. Was there any suggestion that Fine Gael and the Labour Party should go immediately to the polls?

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: The party was wiped out also across the country. I checked the headline which read, "Fianna Fáil sweep back to power in local authorities. Labour wiped out in Dublin". It was a seismic shift then, in terms of what was going on.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: I acknowledge there was a major recession. My point is that it was the same in 1991 and in 2004. Local elections have never been used as a catalyst for a general election, not since the foundation of the State. A great "try-on" has been going on during the recent days.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: We have heard representatives of the Opposition continue their personal attacks on the Taoiseach which has been a constant presence since last year. It is true he has refused to engage in the model of constant campaigning, followed by others. He has not run quarterly poster campaigns or "Evenings with Enda", or published daily statements praising himself. What he has done is what we need...

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Domestically and internationally, the Taoiseach has been carrying an unprecedented workload and has long since earned the respect of those who deal with him.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: If all one has to do is produce policy soundbites the work is easy. However, Government is not about soundbites but about substance.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Communications matter-----

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: -----with the people about the policies that will affect them but the hard work of finding and implementing the right policies is what matters most. As the Taoiseach said when he spoke in this debate, nobody in this Government denies we can and do make mistakes.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Considering the scale, pace of change and complexity of the issues which must be addressed, this is inevitable. What is important is that the overall thrust of policies be what is required. Right now, nothing matters more than restoring the foundations for growth. The fiscal measures required for this are not only tough but they are having a direct personal impact on most people.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: This is the case in respect of both taxation and services. The Opposition has taken the position that it is in favour of dramatically reducing the deficit but it disagrees with the Government's actions to achieve this objective. This is a perfectly legitimate position. However, what is not legitimate is the constant refusal to offer an alternative set of actions. Yes, there have been many...

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Coveney will have his chance.

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: This is how a party can announce it wants to cut the public service pay bill and then send its leader to a union conference during a general election to promise members more money and positions. This is also how we have the cynical game of Deputy Bruton posing as the champion of fiscal restraint while all around his colleagues demand extra spending. We have been hearing speeches about the...

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: I was on a programme with Deputy Ruairí Quinn recently. Deputy Lucinda Creighton was speaking on it too, describing Fine Gael as a Christian Democratic right-of-centre party. I do not know how Deputies Liz McManus or Ruairí Quinn could be comfortable about that but that is only one example of the widening divergence-----

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: Now, when the issues which we must all confront-----

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: The Labour Party and Fine Gael have been trying to distance themselves from each other in recent weeks. They have taken very different approaches to fundamental economic and fiscal issues. Now, when the issues which we must all confront have never been more serious, the very people who are loudest in demanding a change in Government will not say what change their Government would implement....

Confidence in Government: Motion (9 Jun 2009)

Micheál Martin: -----to cast doubt on the Lisbon treaty-----

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