Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

He was resigning as leader of his political party. The Senator can explain it to Green Party members in his own time but that is my interpretation. He was resigning as leader of the Fianna Fáil Party, not as leader of the Government. The Green Party leader submitted to being in the same photograph as all the senior members of the Fianna Fáil Party at the time.

If the Senator really wishes to make changes, we will support him in that but he must not patronise me or any Member of this House by saying we must somehow support his Private Members' motion just because it sounds nice. I will be the first to support the Senator when he seeks a reversal of the amendment of the freedom of information legislation or to have public appointees brought before the relevant committees or a reform of quangos that might be uncomfortable for some people. We will give him all the support he needs in that regard but in the meantime, it is also our job to offer constructive opposition to what the Government is doing.

As we have seen with numerous legislative measures and in a number of budgets, there is utter fabrication or Mickey Mouse politics with regard to dealing with financial issues. The Government has changed the goalposts so often, it has forgotten the side of the pitch on which it is playing. The figures on finance have been ridiculous. We must provide strong opposition because the Government, unfortunately, is all at sea. I accept that most of the problems are due to the Fianna Fáil Ministers being unsure about what they want or where they are going, but the Green Party is a contributing factor and we must hold it to account as well.