John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister back to the House and wish him well in his new capacity. I support the proposal in the Ministers and Secretaries (Ministers of State) Bill 2007 that the Government may, on the nomination of the Taoiseach, appoint not more than 20 persons who are Members of either House of the Oireachtas to be Ministers of State at Departments of State and may, at any time, on the recommendation of the Taoiseach, remove a Minister of State so appointed.

In 1995, Deputy Ruairí Quinn appointed extra Ministers of State on the basis of need. It reminds me of how much an Opposition can say and do something while in Opposition but do the exact opposite when in Government. It might even suggest that it would not be divisive on the last sitting of the House and then turn around and be very divisive. If there was a need in 1995 for extra Ministers of State, there is certainly a need, 12 years later, in 2007, when Ireland has changed substantially in terms of our increased immigrant population, our economy which has doubled in that time, the number of new houses being built, the infrastructure with every city linked by motorways, the global initiative of which we are part and our role in addressing global warming and EU expansion.

There is a compelling case for extra Ministers of State. It is wholly inappropriate for the Opposition, who in 1995 appointed extra Ministers of State, to tell us in the Ireland of 2007 that we do not need extra Ministers of State, especially given this Government's attention to issues such as insurance, which at the beginning of 2002 resulted in job losses and people not being able to afford to take out insurance and caused real problems for competition in our economy. The price of insurance today is at the same level in real terms as it was in 1997. This is as a direct result of the work of this House.

People have been appointed to address issues such as care of the elderly. We need to upskill if we are to meet the needs of our high wage economy. We need to have fifth level people coming on stream because the economy and foreign direct investment demand it. We need people with doctorates and masters. We need an economy that is inclusive of all its citizens.

Forestry is an important area, as is global warming. We are now conscious of the effects of what we do in our global environment. In regard to horticulture, we need to produce more food going forward and to ensure our food is safe. I commend the Taoiseach on what he has done in this area.

Sadly, we heard this morning remarks in respect of the appointments of the Ceann Comhairle and Leas-Cheann Comhairle of the Dáil. I suggest it was wholly inappropriate of the Opposition to raise this matter in the House. I commend the Government on its choice of Ceann Comhairle and Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Anybody, in either House, who shows disrespect for those appointments should not get away with it.