Like Deputy Kenny, I welcome back the Taoiseach. We will have an opportunity later to compliment him on his Presidency of the European Union. Now that he is back, the entire country is waiting to hear when he will reshuffle the most under-performing, indigent Cabinet in the history of the State. In case the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, has any doubt about what went on while he was away, most of his backbench Deputies and, surprisingly, the Minister for Finance agree with me.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs must have heard the Minister for Finance state this morning that the normal tendency in this Cabinet is for Ministers to blame anyone but themselves for their lamentable performance. He stated he is tired of lecturing colleagues "who are crying and whinging about not doing things". The current Cabinet, he said, would not be in Government forever and for God's sake should get on and do it. Despite this, he cannot get a response.

It is little wonder that a forlorn photograph of the Minister for Transport appears on the front page of the Irish Independent this morning. Our visitors from the United States Congress would consider it a scandal if in that great country, with its budget, a roads programme costed at €7 billion ended up costing €16.5 billion. It is the same with everything the Government touches. The Minister for Health and Children cannot tackle queues for public hospitals or deal with accident and emergency or any other matter. He cannot deal with anything except producing another report.

I welcome the return of the Minister for Foreign Affairs because he told his party's backbench Deputies last night that the decisions taken on Aer Rianta will be reversed and the legislation——

That is not correct. As the Deputy was not in attendance, he does not know what he is talking about.

Allow Deputy Rabbitte to continue without interruption.

He should concern himself with his own party.

If I am not correct, I withdraw my compliment but my comment should have been correct. Any Government that proceeds with the break-up of a company and then seeks to establish whether there was any basis for breaking it up should not be in power. We have a history of wasteful Ministers spending public money inefficiently on projects such as the failed experiment on electronic voting, Punchestown and so forth.

Does the Deputy have a question?

We have a Minister for Finance who as recently as this morning defended his stance on tax evasion. This is the same Minister who, for the first time in the history of the State, has 52% of all taxpayers paying at the top or marginal tax rate. When will the Taoiseach reshuffle this incompetent Cabinet?

I am not sure what is the question but I will give an answer anyway.

When will the Taoiseach change his Cabinet?

He should ask his backbenchers what is the question.

Allow the Taoiseach to continue without interruption, please.

I am glad to have the opportunity to state that recent reports on the economy and areas that will affect Ministers show that the economy is growing again by 4% to 5%——

Tension on the backbenches is also growing.

——employment has increased considerably, unemployment has fallen considerably and the level of resources invested in infrastructure is higher than ever. All my Ministers are making excellent progress on the programme for Government.

I am also glad to note the Comptroller and Auditor General, in his report, acknowledges that some of the changes we have made on the construction and road programmes are having an effect on fixed priced contracts and proving very successful.

It is late in the day.

I am also glad that he highlights in his reports the big difference between indicative figures, tender figures and final contract figures, which is explained well.

I assure Deputy Rabbitte we will continue in Government for the next three years. He should not worry too much about the faces and names as we will continue to apply the same excellent policies.

It will be a cause of national gloom if the best the Taoiseach can do in terms of making a commitment to the people is to state the Government's intention to carry on as before. He has seen the response of the people and the disaffection with a Government that has grown so arrogant that its own backbenchers are in revolt.

The Deputy knows all about arrogance.

Yesterday, for example, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform announced he hopes to have legislation on immigration control by Christmas. This is the man who told us that it was a matter of the greatest urgency that we have a referendum and would not permit a proper debate on the issue in the House or anywhere else. Now he indicates he may have legislation by Christmas. He mistakenly believes that to announce is to do. Provided he keeps making announcements he believes he is doing something about crime on our streets and anti-social activity. He planned to tackle the Garda, prison officers and so forth, while the Minister for Education and Science intended to tackle educational disadvantage.

I accept that a number of other Ministers have not made any mistakes because they have not done anything. When will the Taoiseach deal——

What did the Deputy do while in Government?

I thought the Minister would be house trained and would learn some manners in Iveagh House.

I do not need lectures on manners from Deputy Rabbitte.

The Minister should allow Deputy Rabbitte to continue.

He is making patronising sneers.

Perhaps the Taoiseach has not had time to contemplate the matter but when will he ask the House to return in July to deal with the Government crisis in terms of its paralysis, incompetence, waste of public money and inability to do simple things well?

I hope we will complete our legislative programme for this session over the next week or so. I do not need to give Deputy Rabbitte a lecture as he would not appreciate it. The Government has implemented very effective and imaginative legislation across a whole host of areas.

We have had more guillotines.

To pick a few areas and state nothing is happening is a waste of Leaders' Questions, which are meant to discuss an issue of the day.

The Taoiseach should talk to the Minister for Finance.

I have been away for two weeks and if the only thing the leaders of the Opposition can come with up are today's questions, God help them. It is no wonder they did not gain anything in the local and European elections.

The Taoiseach should tell that to the Fianna Fáil Party councillors who lost their seats. His party lost the elections.

I am speechless. The Taoiseach did not see the results.