Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. We are in the final days of an Administration that will not be easily forgotten by the people. In the red hot heat of the current election campaign the Government is bearing the brunt of the people's anger, but when the cold harsh spotlight of history is shone on this period, Fianna Fáil will be the poster boy for the greed, cronyism and deceitfulness of this era. Fianna Fáil deserves the contempt being heaped upon it. The role of the Minister's party in this debacle is substantial, and clearly has not been acknowledged at all so far. The Minister criticised the Green Party for not giving him a couple of weeks for debating this Bill. I am not sure the people could put up with the current Government for that couple of weeks because they are mad keen to get rid of the Government, for very good reason.

The people are hurting. Many have lost their jobs, their mortgage payments are under pressure and some are losing their homes. When I was canvassing in New Ross last weekend, I met a man who had a very suppressed anger on the door step. It is only when one delves deeply into it that one understands people's pain. The man was self employed, his business had gone broke and he had no safety net. The auctioneer was coming to him the following day to put his house on the market. This man is 45 years of age and has a young family. What is the future for him? This is the sort of thing we are seeing happen to many people in the country. Across the country and across every constituency we hear of children emigrating, as the Minister well knows. It is sad that once again our children are going like live exports to every corner of the world. Third level grants have not been paid yet to many students in third level institutions. How can we have a recovery if we cannot keep our young people in third level education for the next couple of years? There is absolutely no dignity for patients who are continually treated on trolleys. A patient of mine with severe gastroenteritis came to tell me about being treated and examined on the corridor of a hospital. That is not what we expected at the beginning of the 21st century here. The confidence of the people has been shattered and their anger is growing. Last night, I watched a woman break down in front of me as she explained to me her carer's allowance, respite care and her husband's disability payment had all been cut. We have completely failed the most vulnerable people in society.

While all this is happening, people are watching Ministers walk away with their pockets lined for a very cosy future, leaving behind the smouldering ashes of what was a thriving economy. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but that has nothing on the misery imposed on our vulnerable people by our departing Ministers. They are carpet-bagging their way out of Government. The Minister for Finance, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, and Deputy Bertie Ahern have one thing in common, namely, they were very good communicators. Unfortunately, what they have been saying has too often been wrong. Too often, we have been told we have turned the corner or seen green shoots. The Minister even managed to convince his own backbenchers that he was interested in the leadership of the party. The people of Ireland are finding it hard to tell the difference between the silver tongue and the forked tongue.

The former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, is the man who promised everybody in Cork a new school, promised to get rid of waiting lists when Minister for Health and Children and no doubt promised world peace as Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is the man who sat next to Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen over the past decade, but now he cannot stop himself from saying he is sorry for the misery his Government has heaped on the people. He reminds me of the sort of two-timing eejit we meet in every part of the country. Everybody knows the type, constantly fooling around behind the back of his long-suffering girlfriend and constantly saying sorry and that it will never happen again. He does not realise that this time she has thrown him out for good. This is how the people feel about how they have been manipulated by the Government. Over the past week the former Minister, Deputy Martin, has been putting on his smarmy smile, going down to the local service station, buying a bunch of €1.99 flowers and running around the corner to see if he can convince her to let him back into the bedroom. That is the type of man we need to get rid of because he will certainly not give this country the leadership it needs. Deputy Martin is leading a party that is less popular than Sinn Féin, yet he is demanding leadership debates. The idea of him giving leadership is comical. The people will not take much notice when Fianna Fáil candidates come to their doors in the coming weeks offering empty promises with a bunch of €1.99 flowers under their arms-----