Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senators Fitzgerald, O'Toole, Alex White, Boyle, Coghlan, Leyden, Ross, Callely, Buttimer, Hanafin, McCarthy, O'Reilly, Ó Murchú and Mullen all expressed their views on topics about which they feel very strongly. Second Stage of the Finance Bill 2011 will take place immediately after the Order of Business. The Minister for Finance is now ready to commence with it.

I congratulate the new leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Micheál Martin, on becoming the eighth leader of the party since 1926. I wish him well. I worked very closely with him around the world when he was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and when I was chairman of the Committee on Enterprise and Small Business. He certainly has great experience. He is a person really determined to make a change and to make his mark. We all wish him well in his task. I also congratulate our Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, who had the job during what has been the toughest time since 1930. The decisions he has made were the correct ones. They had to be taken in the national interest. In years to come, I hope that the incoming Government will bear fruit from all those difficult decisions taken under his stewardship. I wish him, his wife Mary and their family health and happiness. I look forward to our friendship for many years to come.

Some colleagues called for a balanced election campaign. The campaign for the leadership of Fianna Fáil was a shining example of balanced election campaigning. It was an uplifting experience. I have been around for quite a while. I have seen a few different leadership contests and I can say that this is a new beginning in politics. I hope that the general election will follow suit in the same way-----