Vol. 908 Friday, No. 3 6 May 2016 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DÁIL ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) 06/05/2016A00100Business of Dáil � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 06/05/2016B00300Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 2 06/05/2016HH00100Business of Dáil � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 34 06/05/2016UU00500Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 36 DÁIL ÉIREANN Dé hAoine, 6 Bealtaine 2016 Friday, 6 May 2016 Chuaigh an Ceann Comhairle i gceannas ar 12 p�m� Paidir. Prayer. 06/05/2016A00100Business of Dáil 06/05/2016B00100Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Paul Kehoe): It is pro- posed to take No� 1, nomination of Taoiseach (resumed)� It is proposed, notwithstanding any- thing in Standing Orders, that the arrangements for the nomination of Taoiseach shall be as follows: the speech of each proposer and seconder shall not exceed five minutes in each case; following which, statements shall be made by the main spokespersons for Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, AAA-PBP, Independents 4 Change, Social Democrats, the Green Party, or a Member nominated in their stead, and a non-party Deputy, which shall not exceed ten minutes in each case and such Members may share their time; following which, the Chair shall allow contributions for a period not exceeding 30 minutes; whereupon the Chair shall put the Question on any motion made in the order in which such motions were received; on conclusion of the votes on nomination of Taoiseach, the Ceann Comhairle shall call on all nominees for a five-minute statement in each case; and on the conclusion of nomination of Tao- iseach, the Dáil shall adjourn for three hours� 06/05/2016B00200An Ceann Comhairle: I take it that it is agreed� 06/05/2016B00300Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) 06/05/2016B00400An Ceann Comhairle: I will now take nominations for the Office of Taoiseach. 06/05/2016B00500Deputy Noel Rock: Tairgim: Go n-ainmneoidh Dáil Éireann an Teachta Enda Kenny chun a cheaptha ag an Uachtarán mar Thaoiseach� I move: That Dáil Éireann nominate Deputy Enda Kenny for appointment by the President to be 2 6 May 2016 Taoiseach� Fourth time is the charm, as they say� As Deputies can see, I am very eager to get on with this speech on the fourth occasion� All of us in this Chamber have been trusted with the respon- sibility� It is up to us to build consensus� It is up to us to work together and it is up to us to reject the politics of the past and embrace the politics of the future� Resilience is needed� Patience is needed� Fortitude is needed and it has not been found wanting from many in this House� It would be remiss of me not to pay respect to those who have engaged and played their part in this process, those in Fianna Fáil, who have worked to compromise and those Independents who have worked together to build consensus, build foundations and build trust� We are all aware that government is not merely about having power but about using it to achieve the kind of change we wish to see in our society� The truth is that no problem we face as a nation is bigger than our capacity as a people to overcome it� However, that requires parties and people working together and pursuing those same overarching goals of ensuring the well- being of our nation, our society, our people and the most vulnerable within it� I have no doubt that the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, has done this and will continue to do this� I have no doubt that those of us who are willing can work together and will work together with trust, transparency and tenacity underpinning our efforts� This new partnership Government would work with an ethos of openness and inclusivity and I believe that nobody would be better placed to head that Government than the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny� His- tory often has a tendency to chime with the present day and while we must today look forward and embrace the politics of the future, it is often instructive to learn from the past� In 1922, Michael Collins, speaking as he nominated a President, said “the Irish nation, at the present mo- ment, is a ship without a captain, and a ship, as we all know, cannot get on without a captain�” Today we face a similar issue� Ireland needs a Taoiseach to match the challenges we have ahead, a Taoiseach to master the opportunities we face, a Taoiseach who can harness the great capabilities of this Parliament and a Taoiseach who will always put the country first. Deputy Enda Kenny is all of these things and he should be our next Taoiseach� President Higgins often implores us to be the arrow and not the target, to lead and illuminate the path ahead, not just for ourselves but for others too, to learn from the politics of the past and embrace the politics of the future, to reject the politics of anger and embrace the politics of answers. That is why all of us chose to seek public office and why Deputy Enda Kenny came to lead our country in an hour of need� It is why I am nominating him to lead us at a time when, once again, we need leadership and a Government� I will close with a quote from somebody who is not a US President, for once� It is Arthur Griffith, who wrote in the first issue of Nationality in 1915: “we believe, in short, that Ireland will be again one of these days what it was in a former day, the light of the world, and that the chief business of every Irishman is to hasten that day�” That was in 1915, 101 years ago� How far we have come but how far we still have to go� It has been 70 days, as Members are aware, since our election� We have capacity, opportunity and the ability to be the best country in the world� We also have challenges and the urgency of now is too great to ignore� We have no time to lose and it has been 70 days� I am proud to nominate Deputy Enda Kenny to be Taoiseach� 06/05/2016C00200Deputy Catherine Byrne: It is my honour and privilege to second the nomination of Dep- uty Enda Kenny as Taoiseach in the Thirty-second Dáil� In the words of John F� Kennedy, “we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time”� Deputy Enda Kenny, over the 3 Dáil Éireann past number of weeks, has shown himself as a leader who acts and thinks not only for himself but for the good of the country and our citizens� Through negotiation and listening to the views of those elected by the people, Deputy Kenny has put the country first by reading the signs of the times and putting in place a programme for partnership� We stand on the brink of the next important chapter in Irish history� It is important that we have a leadership with vision, compassion and a sense of common decency� Deputy Enda Kenny has all these qualities in abundance. I firmly believe Deputy Kenny, as Taoiseach, will leave the country on the right track, encouraging consensus and open communication in facing the many challenges that lie ahead for all of us in the Thirty-second Dáil� I therefore formally second the proposal that Dáil Éireann elect Deputy Enda Kenny as Taoiseach� 06/05/2016C00300An Ceann Comhairle: We will now take other statements� Is the Taoiseach speaking on behalf of Fine Gael? 06/05/2016C00400The Taoiseach: I think that will be after----- 06/05/2016C00500An Ceann Comhairle: It is the main spokespersons� Who is speaking for Fine Gael? 06/05/2016C00600Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Simon Harris): I apolo- gise� I did not think I was meant to speak now� 06/05/2016C00700Deputy Timmy Dooley: Where is Deputy Shane Ross? 06/05/2016C00800An Ceann Comhairle: The Deputy is slightly distracted� 06/05/2016C00900Deputy Simon Harris: All of us must thank the Irish people for their patience and forbear- ance in what has been a very difficult period since the general election, as all of us in the House in all parties grapple to come to terms with the new political reality� We have been presented by the Irish people with a very diverse political position and I acknowledge the efforts by many in this House to try to ensure the outcome can produce a Government and bring us to this point today� Today I truly hope we will see the creation of a partnership Government� This will be a Government that sets out a vision of a strong economy, but a strong economy that will help to deliver a fair society, with each - the strong economy and the fair society - dependent on the other to succeed� The success or failure of any new partnership Government will be measured not just in terms of percentage points of economic growth, bond yields or bond yield changes but rather by the quality of people’s lives and the opportunities for a fair society for all our citi- zens� A fair community leans on a strong economy and, as we set about trying to put together a new Government, we are determined to build that competitive and adaptable economy right across the country, centred on the aim of decent work for everyone� This is at the heart of the development of the core ambition for a new Government� We now need to use our economic success to make the lives of all our people a little bit easier� The Government, though, will not achieve this ambition working alone� This is a partnership Government and it will not just be for those in government or for those in the Oireachtas to achieve it; we will also need to cre- ate the scope to empower communities and citizens so that we can all truly work together to achieve these aims� Ireland has changed and our citizens, rightly, have higher expectations� Politics must now respond to those expectations openly and quickly� It must offer people more choice and diversity and help them to be better able to manage threats in their lives� Our aim in 2016 must be to build a nation that values all our citizens� The deep economic recession and 4 6 May 2016 crisis this country faced has meant there have been many lost years and, indeed, many damaged lives from those difficult years.