Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I will take no lip from anyone in this regard.

The fundamentals are quite simple. In the words of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, in the Dáil this week, "People have lost jobs. They have lost savings. They have lost pensions." The Minister failed to mention that the people have lost trust and have lost confidence in the ability of the Government to govern. Fundamentally, the people believe it will require a different jockey on the horse to take us out of the political tsunami in which we find ourselves. Fine Gael has the policies and I will happily debate policy with any Member present. I have read some of Fine Gael's policies into the record. However, Members should discuss a new direction. I do not refer to a cosmetic change but to one that is real and meaningful because the Government has lost that vision. I do not propose change for its own sake but because the people I met on the doorsteps are disillusioned about the withdrawal of the Christmas bonus. I recently gave the House details of the case of a retired teacher whom I met some weeks ago. The woman in question, who is a spinster, worked as a national school teacher for 35 years. She bought shares in Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks. She intended to fall back on them if, in her day of distress and need, she needed to go into a nursing home. That is now gone. I also met a woman in Bishopstown whose child needs 24-hour care. She told me her application for a housing adaptation grant had been refused. In light of such cases, do Senators Daly and Butler continue to believe Ireland is an equitable and just country? It is clear that it is not. The ship of State, which has been run onto the rocks, requires a new captain with a new crew that can create an equitable and fair Ireland. We need change because the Government has abdicated responsibility for matters like health, the banks and housing.

I would like to speak about the manner in which elections are run. Last Friday evening, I received a telephone call from a distressed gentleman whose wife had gone to their local polling station at 7.30 p.m., only to discover that her vote had already been used. A line had been drawn through her name. Although she had her passport and her polling card with her, she was not allowed to vote. In modern Ireland, it is not good enough that personation continues to take place and that our register of electors is in rag order. The proper procedures are not followed in many of our polling stations, which stay open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. I do not criticise the returning officer in Cork, Mr. Martin Harvey, who does a fine job of running elections. We need to examine how we run our electoral system, starting with a root and branch reform of the operation of the elections themselves. I look forward to reading the Standards in Public Office Commission's report on levels of compliance with electoral law. In the city of Cork, many posters and other forms of election literature are in breach of the Electoral Acts. They do not specify who printed them, for example. If we are serious about using our electoral law to create a fair and balanced electoral system, we must apply the full rigours of the law to those who breach it. If we do not do so, the Electoral Acts will be seen as a farce and a joke. We need to be serious about the running of elections. I want a fair, balanced and equitable electoral system that gives a chance to everybody who wants to run for election.

I congratulate those who won in the recent elections. I thank those who were defeated for running and hope they will run again. I take no pleasure in seeing people beaten in elections. The people have spoken. This Government has no mandate. It has lost its moral authority to govern. It is time for a general election because this country deserves a better Government than the one it has.