First of all I would like to thank you all not only for attending this event today but also for the support which you give to our work both here in Kilkenny and throughout the country.
I’ve spent much of the last week talking to leaders from many different countries and promoting Ireland’s commitment to cooperation and shared development. Over the last four years I have been very clear in not only asserting Ireland’s long-standing priorities, but also putting forward our determination to support the values of democracy at a time when they are under great threat.
Ours is one of the world’s longest standing democracies. At the core of why we have survived so long has been our commitment to continue to evolve. Our willingness to find new ways forward. Our deep and growing involvement within a European Union of sovereign states which has been one of the most powerful forces for peace and shared prosperity ever known.
And this democratic republican tradition of being willing to grow and evolve is built on a foundation of direct engagement with the Irish people. Where many countries have a huge distance between senior politicians and the public, we do not. And this direct engagement is vital to creating a space for talking about our future.
Perhaps the most important things which I find when visiting communities throughout the country is how often the primary focus is on a positive agenda – an agenda of how more can be achieved. This is very different from a lot of the political debate which you find at a national level. A debate where the last thing some people will ever do is to acknowledge the positive achievements of our country.
In fact the biggest division in Irish politics at the moment is between those who see problems and want to solve them and those who see problems and just want to exploit them.
Fianna Fáil is absolutely clear on where we stand – we believe in a positive, progressive agenda for this republic.
We believe that Ireland has achieved a lot. It has achieved positive and sustained progress.
But we also accept absolutely clearly that we have to move forward – we have to take new steps to overcome real and sustained problems.
Since we returned to government we have shown in area after area our commitment to tackling even the most difficult problems. We didn’t seek easy challenges, we sought the toughest challenges and we have shown that progress is possible.
Many people were surprised when we sought responsibility for health, for housing, for education, for agriculture and for protecting the economy in the middle of the fastest-moving recession ever recorded outside wartime. But we believed then, and we believe it today more than ever, that politics must be about leading change.
Communication with people is vital, but I believe that above all else politics must be about substance. It must be about being willing to tackle even the hardest issues. And I believe we have a record to be proud of. A record of tackling serious emergencies and also beginning programmes of long-term and sustained progress on vital issues.
In the populist drift of a lot of coverage of issues there is a reluctance to ever acknowledge progress, but I think people see through this. Just look at the facts.
In housing, we have been relentless in finding ways to build a new momentum for home building. We’ve managed to start a new era in social housing, create mew affordable housing initiatives and we are enacting comprehensive legislation to deal with the often excessive and unreasonable barriers which planning procedures can put in the way of building homes. And in the face of equally relentless opposition, our Housing for All has put in place the essential foundations to deliver a major acceleration in housing. Over 115,000 new homes have been completed so far.
In health, we refused to accept the idea that you just had to accept problems as endemic. Our programme of investment and reform means that there are thousands more doctors and nurses delivering front-line care – delivering real reductions in waiting times for patients and creating the platform to go much further in the months and years ahead. In fact there are over 8,400 more nurses working in our health system today than there were before Fianna Fáil took responsibility for health.
And in talking the biggest public health crisis in modern history, we worked to limit its impact and implemented a world-leading vaccine programme.
In education, we were determined to give sustained support, delivering the lowest class sizes and biggest building and renovation programme in our history. And this is having a real impact. The latest international figures show that early school leaving is now only half of the level in the rest of Europe, third-level qualifications are amongst the highest in the world and figures for basic skills like literacy are rising.
I’m particularly proud of the fact that thousands of extra educational professionals are working with children with special needs.
We came to office during the deepest and fastest-hitting recession recorded outside of wartime. We worked to save businesses, save jobs and deliver the fastest recovery of any country in Europe.
Not for one moment would I deny that our country faces many problems – that we have to go much further in helping many of our people. But the facts are clear.
In every area, we have worked every day of this government to deliver lasting investment, development and reform for the Irish people.
As Taoiseach and now Tánaiste, I have sought to reflect our commitment to delivering a government focused on the hard work of tackling problems. When we agreed to enter into this government we also set out our commitment to focusing not on short-term politics but on the needs of the people. I’ve always worked to treat all ministers fairly, respecting different interests and acknowledging shared-effort.
Fianna Fáil’s work in this government has shown a sustained commitment to promoting the public interest and helping our country meet critical challenges.
We’re proud of this record. We will defend it against anyone. And it is a record we will keep building on up to the end of our mandate. We have important reforming legislation to complete, and we will enact a Budget which will help families, improve services and protect Ireland’s economy so that we can fund pensions, investments and services well into the future.
But let there be no mistake – when the time comes for the next general election campaign our only focus will be on what we want to achieve in the future. We will talk with the Irish people about the progress and the new policies we believe can and should be delivered by the next government.
We intend to fight an election based on substance. We want an election where the public are shown an ambitious programme on the issues which matter most to people.
We have a successful economy which we must protect and grow – and we must use this success to deliver sustained progress on the social, cultural, economic and environmental issues which are central to our future.
We are going to be very clear on exactly what action we want to implement, and the priority we will give to specific critical issues.
It will be a programme of investment and reform, delivering real help to families, communities and businesses in every part of the country.
And in this we are also going to set out a positive agenda for the future of rural and provincial Ireland. This is important throughout our country, but especially here in Kilkenny and the South East where key parts of our world-leading agrifood industry are based.
One of the most damaging things which developed in recent years is the idea that there should be a conflict between having a successful agrifood sector and meeting essential environmental goals.
As Charlie McConalogue has outlined in recent weeks, the scale and pace of advances in knowledge and technology mean that we absolutely can protect farm incomes and grow our agrifood industries while also significantly reducing both carbon emissions and pollution.
The answer is not to be found in conflict, and it’s not to be found in empty words, it’s to be found in sustained partnership and sustained investment.
To give just one example, two Fianna Fáil Ministers, Charlie McConalogue and Daragh O’Brien came together to fund a major project to help farmers reduce water pollution. And on top of the funding they have provided, farmers on the Slaney River have themselves helped fund expert advisors.
Farmers and the agrifood industry as a whole are not the problem, they are the answer. And a programme of sustained partnership and funding is how we will meet not just our environmental goals, but also our social and economic goals.
We absolutely believe that there is a bright future for rural and provincial communities. We can protect and grow strong, indigenous businesses. We can support local communities in terms of schools, public services and securing safe and clean city and town centres.
There will be time enough in the future to talk about our proposals, but for the moment we have to complete this mandate. To focus on governing ahead of politics. And this is what we will do in the upcoming budget.
We will find a balance between the many demands there are for budgetary measures – with the priority remaining helping people address real cost of living pressures and sustainable investments in public services and infrastructure to benefit all.
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