Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad and second the Government's amendment. When I read the motion, I thought we were dismantling everything in terms of looking at what the Government has tried to do, acknowledging the progress that has been made and accepting that much more needs to be done. We cannot do it overnight. As least, we should, as an old line in a book puts it, "praise the ford as you pass it". A considerable amount of work has been done, a considerable amount of commitment has been given and progress has been made.

The motion is a complete dismantling of everything achieved since 1997. It seems to say that nothing has happened since then and that we are a disaster and a failure. Nobody is coming forward to tell us——