Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "'That" and substitute the following:

"Seanad Éireann notes:

the Government's first priority in the past year was to progress the restoration of economic, financial and political stability, and to re-build the international reputation of the country;

that Government has published its Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work to signal its determination to tackle the unemployment problem;

the Government's jobs initiative which has already provided 5,000 internship places;

the ongoing work of Government to improve the EU-IMF programme which has seen a reduction in programme loan interest rates and an agreement for the reinvestment of some proceeds from the sale of state assets for investment in the Irish economy and the ongoing focus on easing the onerous cost of supporting the banking sector;

the comments of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste concerning the need to do more to address the mortgage arrears situation and notes the establishment of a dedicated Cabinet committee on mortgage arrears to bring a new focus to the issue;

the Government is one year into a term of office;

the continued implementation of the programme for Government with a particular focus on job creation, reform and fairness."

I thank my colleagues in Fianna Fáil for presenting this motion as it allows the House and Government to comment after the first 12 months of the new Government on the current economic and political situation in the country. There was a tradition fadó, fadó, for such debates to take place to take place at the end of every term in both the Dáil and Seanad where this sort of issue could be discussed in a less politicised and less confrontational way. Perhaps we should revert to that tradition, because it is important to reflect, debate and present our views on the state of the nation.

I feel obliged to ask my colleagues to think back. I appreciate that a week is a long time in politics and 12 months is probably an eternity and that it is easy for people to forget. I ask Members to think back to the Ireland of November and December 2010. Think back to a time when the Government was imploding before our eyes, when we did not know who was Taoiseach on one day, did not know who was a Cabinet Minister the next day and did not know which party was in power or in opposition. The public was frightened and the few constituents we had who had money in financial institutions were ringing us to know what they should do with their money and to ask was it safe in the bank or post office. There was a state of terror among the people. That led to a general election and we all know the result of that. Now, 12 months later, we can look back from a Government perspective with what I would call sober satisfaction on a job well done.

The wording of the Government amendment is modest and its language is temperate. That must be our approach because we cannot expect overnight and instant solutions to problems which were five, six or seven years in the making. There is a different economic mood in the country today and there is a different political mood. If the people were asked by way of referendum today whether they wanted the current Government or the previous government, the answer would be very clear. If the people were asked by way of referendum today whether they want Taoiseach Enda Kenny or Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the answer would be very clear. If the people were asked today whether they want Taoiseach Enda Kenny or Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the answer would be very clear. This is not an idle boast but something we would all see as realistic.

I recognise that much more must be done and that more progress must be made. However, we must also accept and recognise that in the first 12 months, we have achieved the slow turning around of the country's economic position, its political situation and its reputation at home and abroad. The Taoiseach and many Ministers were in the United States this week on important international duty. We saw the reception they got and noticed a visible degree of interest by American business people in investing in Ireland. Some weeks ago, the Chines Vice Premier visited Ireland and, again, we noted the level of Chinese interest in our country. Would that have been the case 12 or 14 months ago? No, it would not. Confidence is returning slowly, but surely. The rebuilding of the ruined economy will not happen overnight and progress will be slow. We must ask all to accept that the difficult measures which are being imposed - these are not imposed with glee - will work. We are beginning to see the signs of growth and a turnaround.

I would like to highlight a few of the Government's achievements. Look, for example, at the work being done by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, which will lead to the children's referendum some time in the next number of months. That will be ground breaking legislation and a ground breaking referendum as far as the children of Ireland and future generations are concerned. It will be an outstanding achievement of the Government. The Taoiseach in his wisdom decided to appoint, for the first time in the history of the State, a full Cabinet Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. It was a profound political statement which will result in a profound difference in the lives of children and future generations in this country. It was very laudable and is something of which we can be really proud.

Over the coming months, very radical decisions on local government will be made. As a former member of a county council, I have always believed that our local authorities could be a huge driving force of not only local development but of economic development. However, it will require hugely new thinking and planning of local government and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, will bring forward those proposals in May or June or thereabouts.

We are seeing the beginnings of genuine political reform. We have seen it in the Oireachtas with the way business is being done, including in the way the committees have been changed. Further tweaking is required but we have seen the beginnings of new politics in this country, which is very welcome.

Above all, it is the mood of the country which tells the tale. People are not jumping with joy and have not won the lottery but there is a belief that Ireland once again has a future. A solid achievement of the Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues has been to give back a sense of future to Ireland because all hope was gone. We were not just a basket case economy but people were fearful of the future and saw no hope for their children and their children's children. That hope has been regenerated. I acknowledge that much more must be done but we have made a solid and steady, but modest, start.

I invite my political colleagues on all sides of the House to work with us in this time of new politics because the last thing the people want to hear about is the future of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or the Labour Party. As a political anorak, I watched much of the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis as I am interested in the goings on in all political parties. However, when I hear all parties look inwards in regard to their future, I ask the question, who cares? What people care about is the future of this country. We should set aside party politics for the next five years to ensure that by 2016, our country is no longer a province of the IMF but is once again a free, independent and democratic country living within its means and with its own budgetary policy.