Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I rise to raise two issues, one that has been raised on a number of occasions in this House, which has a campaigning zeal in it. It is an issue I raised directly with the Taoiseach when he was last in this House and I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is working steadily on it, namely, direct provision. This is not a divisive issue in this House. In fact, it is not a divisive issue in this Parliament. It is to our great credit as an Oireachtas that we do not have any political party or individual who plays the race card or who is advocating an approach other than a humanitarian one to the issue. It would be beneficial for this House to have the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, come to the House to give us his perspective on the progress of the implementation of the McMahon report. Members of all parties in this House would appreciate that opportunity and I call on the Acting Leader to facilitate such a debate.

The second point I wish to make, with the greatest respect, is in complete contradiction to what Senator Craughwell said. I find the current situation unbelievable given that we face into the teeth of Brexit negotiations which are very worrying and will have huge implications for this country. I held a public meeting in my constituency last night and some of the statistics that have been given by the European movement suggest that a worst-case scenario could result in the loss of 400,000 jobs in this country. The agrifood sector is under great pressure. A total of 20% of jobs in Cavan, Monaghan, Wexford and Waterford are dependent on the agrifood sector. In 2008 the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, went on a prolonged lap of honour while the country was on fire and I do not think it is appropriate for the current Taoiseach to do the same. He should be reminded that he is not just the leader of Fine Gael, he is the leader of this country.

While the rest of us are fascinated with the personality competition that is going on at the moment between various individuals in the Fine Gael Party, what is happening in this country is much more important than the future leadership of that great Christian democratic movement in Ireland. What we need is a leader who can lead us into the Brexit negotiations and we do not need another lap of honour. My colleagues in Fine Gael can pant, tut and make all the noises they want but the reality is that this Chamber represents the entire country and when the Taoiseach was here last year he made a commitment to come back by the end of 2016. It is fair enough if his diary was full but every Member of this House would appreciate the opportunity to discuss with the Taoiseach the ongoing Brexit negotiations and to implore him not to go on a prolonged lap of honour and to take his responsibility as Taoiseach seriously in order that we face into the situation collectively as a country rather than from a partisan, party-political point of view. I am terribly sorry if my Fine Gael colleagues are offended by my remarks.