Dan Boyle (Green Party)

When my party entered government in 2007, it did so knowing what had happened to smaller parties which had entered coalition Governments. The likelihood was that in the succeeding election it would see a reduction in the number seats and votes won because that had been the experience of all smaller parties in government. However, no one could have anticipated the depth of the change in our economic circumstances. We are also fighting a cartoon image, that somehow we lacked a degree of certainty, that we were not up to the challenge of being in government and that we would run away at the first obstacle. We had and still have a responsibility to ensure we will not walk away from whatever challenges face us in government.

The decision of my party a few weeks ago was based on the fact that circumstances had irredeemably changed and that because of this, a degree of certainty was required. There needed to be certainty concerning the budget, the negotiations with the European Union and the IMF, as well as the Finance Bill. It is necessary to overcome these obstacles to ensure the future economic health of the country. Once overcome, we said there would be certainty in terms of how the people would view the future governance of the country. I do not think they will see it in the black and white terms presented by some today. There will be a national debate which has been lacking for a long time.

We entered government in 2007 with knowledge of policies that, as the Senator rightly said, I criticised in the Lower House. I believed they would cause difficulties along the way, but they were voted on by the people. In addition, they had been mimicked by all political parties in the 2007 general election campaign. At the time the Labour Party was seeking tax decreases. The reality is that one makes a decision on the basis of how the people made their decision.

Everyone enters political life in the belief they may have an opportunity to serve in government, make changes and a difference. My party has sought to do so in the most difficult of circumstances. Despite this, we can point to concrete achievements in areas such as the renewable energy sector, for which the figure has doubled from 7% to 15%. Thousands of jobs have been created in the sector, one of the engines of the economy. Our policies also included a revamping of planning legislation. Because of the way it had been framed, it led us to the economic situation in which we find ourselves. We have also provided for changes to social legislation, including the Civil Partnership Act. We are glad we placed these matters on the legislative agenda and were happy to see the changes implemented.

We have placed a time limitation on our participation in government because the Finance Bill must be passed within a set time period. However, in that period other legislation can and will be passed. When the other House is debating the Finance Bill, we will have debating time in this House. When the Seanad is debating the Finance Bill, the other House will have debating time. There are possibly six to seven weeks available in which we want to see Bills passed dealing with climate change and corporate donations.

As regards the economic crisis, I have already expressed my unhappiness about the policies that preceded the entry of the Green Party into government. Regardless of what Government was elected in 2007, given the economic circumstances, we would have arrived at the same point because of the policies followed. It is due to a combination of wrong decisions being made and the ignition of the wrong international circumstances.

Senator Ross has referred to the situation in which we find ourselves internationally, but it is not unique. Iceland, Latvia and Hungary find themselves in the same position. Portugal and Spain are borrowing money at a rate of 7% on international money markets. Our level of debt was far higher, yet we were able to get out of the difficulty ourselves because we had an independent currency. The difference now is our membership of the single European currency, the trigger for these events. Despite this, my party in government has sought to make difficult decisions to get us out of this difficulty as quickly as possible. While acknowledging mistakes have been made, it has pointed to the road to recovery and tried to ensure it is done as fairly as possible. This means examining how we spend every penny, as well as how we raise revenue, because there are huge imbalances.

History cannot be written while one is in the midst of events, but I feel no shame and take some pride on behalf of my party in the fact that is has participated in government to make a difference. We have tried to deal with the most difficult set of circumstances any Government has had to face in the history of the State. Therefore, I will not be lectured by people who avoided making such decisions and who have made worse mistakes in government. This is our first experience of government and it certainly has been a baptism of fire.

When we have a national debate in a few months time, whatever the result may be, my party will be able to state it did its best and tried to be honest with the people. However, there will be considerable disappointments, particularly as the time available will be limited; in other circumstances a further 18 months would have been available.

In addition, I regret the fact that we have failed on the question of Seanad reform, something we have not been able to resolve in our participation in government. That is part of the national debate we need to have, but not in the populist way suggested by some in my party, as well as by those in Fianna Fáil and the leadership of Fine Gael. We need to have a conversation on the form and participation of government, the quality of public confidence in politics and the systems of government. If this election gets to that level and goes beyond the economic arguments we must have for our immediate future, then we can say this was an exercise worth having and we can inspire some hope and confidence in the future of this country.