It seems as if the Progressive Democrats has moved into primary position today. This is the time of year in many parts of the world where people look at their lives and examine what it is we have done and what it is we have failed to do. The Tánaiste is in the right place at the right time. Deputy Rabbitte commented yesterday that the Taoiseach's performance might be the last time he took leaders' questions from that position. It might be more relevant in the Tánaiste's case.

I would like to ask him about a number of broken promises. I could mention the promise to end hospital waiting lists by 2004, or the promise to spend taxpayers' money wisely, when the country was given electronic machines and PPARS. I could mention the broken promises in the Tánaiste's own portfolio, where, under his watch, murder is up by 43%, gun crime is up by 39% and rape is up by 25%.

Wow.

The only thing going down seems to be the detection rates. The Tánaiste pointed to an end to the revolving door system in prisons, yet 3,000 prisoners were let out of jail early in 2006. I could ask him about all those promises, but I will not.

The Standing Order allows for one question on a topical issue.

Tá sé ag teacht. I want to ask the Tánaiste about the biggest promise he made. This time five years ago, he gingerly climbed up a ladder on a lamppost in Ranelagh and said "Single party Government? No thanks." It was one of the pictures of the decade. Will the Tánaiste outline what exactly he has done to prevent single party Government, given that there is an endless list of broken promises in which he was involved?

I am deeply grateful to the Deputy for not asking all the other questions for which I was prepared. I will answer the question for which I am totally unprepared, which is about what I have done to prevent single party Government. The people of Ireland chose the Government on the last occasion, not me. The people of Ireland will have the opportunity in the coming months to choose another Government.

They will choose it again.

Allow the Tánaiste to speak.

Just like on the last occasion, I am absolutely confident that they will take a long, hard look at those benches and say "No thanks".

They will say "Go now".

Deputy Kenny will not be in a position to put questions to either the Taoiseach or myself after the election not because he will be on this side of the House, but because of other events.

Is that a punch line?

People sometimes forget the situation that existed when the Deputy and a number of others around him were sitting at the Cabinet, while Deputy Rabbitte was sitting at the high chair of the Cabinet table as a half Minister.

He was getting his Liga.

Unemployment was 10.6%——

And coming down.

——and it drove thousands of people to the unemployment exchanges every week. That rate of unemployment toppled governments across western Europe.

Is it in order to tell lies?

We created 1,000 jobs per week.

That is the rate of unemployment and underperformance——

Deputy Stagg is not entitled to make any remarks, but he will have to withdraw the word "lies".

I asked a question.

You must withdraw the word "lie" unequivocally.

I did not use the word "lie". I was asking you a question, a Cheann Comhairle.

You did use the word. I am asking you to withdraw——

I was asking you a question about whether it is in order for the Tánaiste to tell lies in the House.

Does the Deputy want to leave the House? You will withdraw the word "lies".

I know you do not like the word "lie", but is it in order to tell lies?

The Deputy will withdraw the word unequivocally.

I did not accuse anybody of anything.

Are you withdrawing it?

What do you mean? I asked you a question and I am entitled to do so. Is the Tánaiste telling lies?

No, you are not entitled to intervene. You are not entitled to accuse any Member of this House of telling lies.

What must I withdraw?

You used the phrase "telling lies" and I ask you to withdraw that, Deputy.

I did not. I asked you a question.

I am asking you to withdraw the allegation that a Member was telling lies.

What do you mean? I made no allegation.

You did.

I asked you a question, namely if it is in order for the Tánaiste to tell lies in the House.

That is an allegation that he was telling lies.

It is not. It is a question addressed to you.

You will have to leave the House if you do not withdraw it.

Must I leave the House because I asked a question?

You made an allegation and you will have to leave the House.

You are being stupid, if you do not mind me saying so. I withdraw the word "lie".

The Deputy will leave the House.

I withdraw the word "lie".

Right. He has withdrawn the word "lie".

If the people of Ireland want a demonstration of how poor a Government consisting of the parties opposite would be, they only have to look at that performance. Arrogance, deceit and incompetence all rolled up in one.

The Tánaiste is merely a mudguard for Fianna Fáil.

The Deputy raised the question of the achievements of the partners in Government. I remind the Deputy of something before I go on to our achievements. This is a special year.

We do not want a history lesson from the Tánaiste.

It is the year in which Deputies Kenny and Rabbitte collectively will be 50 years sitting in this House. I have attended meetings throughout the country and asked audiences to name one achievement by either Deputy at any time in those 50 years. Nobody can give me an answer.

The Tánaiste has never managed to be re-elected.

He will be climbing up the poles again soon.

Not merely are they an underachieving combination but they have no achievements to their name.

The Tánaiste is ranting.

What do the focus groups say about the Tánaiste?

When asked on RTE radio last Sunday what he could point to in his career in politics that was an achievement for the Irish people, Deputy Kenny said he had improved the St. Patrick's Day parade.

He kept it on the same date.

If we had to wait 20 years for that, God knows how long we would have to wait for any other achievement.

The Tánaiste is hallucinating again, it is a serious condition.

Perhaps Members of the Fine Gael Party will allow their leader to submit his question without interruption.

I am glad of the history lesson from the Tánaiste. In his previous political life, he was special adviser to a former Taoiseach, although he might not use that term. We could talk about what happened in the 1980s, or even the 1970s and 1960s.

The time that Fine Gael doubled the national debt.

Fianna Fáil trebled it.

That is irrelevant to where we are now. The Tánaiste is the deputy leader of the Government. As such, he is partly responsible for the 40,000 operations that were cancelled in the past two years.

Hear, hear.

He is partly responsible for the 29,000 people who cannot meet their consultants because of endless waiting lists. He is partly responsible for the length of accident and emergency waiting times. He is partly responsible for the failure of the Government to reduce class sizes, even though the Minister for Education and Science knows that more than 100,000 children are in classes of 30 and more. He is partly responsible for bringing in the cross-compliance form for farmers, which has 1,460 boxes to be ticked.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, crows in Portlaoise about all the things he has done and will do. That is the type of nonsense the Progressive Democrats speak in this House, giving us their legal lessons from the Four Courts. The Tánaiste is obviously worried and desperate if he is asking questions about Fine Gael at meetings throughout the State. I do not know where these public meetings take place because there is no record of any of them.

The Fine Gael Party is holding séances in the evenings.

In the midst of the Taoiseach's difficulties last year, it was the Tánaiste who said behind his hand to him that they had managed to get through it.

They got away with it.

It was the Tánaiste who put the poster on the pole with the message "Single Party Government — No Thanks". In the wake of the Taoiseach's difficulties, the Tánaiste told the Irish people he would see to it that new ethics legislation would be introduced quickly in this House. He said that to save his own bacon because of his carry on and the fact that he desperately wanted to hold on to power. The good lady beside him would not have acted that way and neither would her predecessor. The Tánaiste did so because he has a craving to be in power and in the limelight. He does not understand that he above anyone else should see that commitments he has made to the public are honoured.

Where is the new ethics legislation that he promised publicly to the people? There are reports on this in today's newspapers. I notice the Tánaiste has to be advised by his Whip as to the status of his legislation. It is like the answer the Taoiseach gave yesterday to Deputy Rabbitte's query about promised legislation, that it is somewhere along the corridor.

It is sad.

The Tánaiste made a commitment in this regard. Where is the legislation? What are the issues in respect of which his party has prevented Fianna Fáil from being a single party Government?

I ask Deputy Kenny to give way to the Tánaiste.

The electorate will give its answer in seven or eight weeks' time to the range of promises that were broken by him and his cronies.

Deputy Kenny cannot get into government.

There will be a new Government shortly and it will not be led by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.

Hear, hear.

I am loath to interrupt that babble. It is because I am follically challenged that I can say the Deputy is having a bad hair day.

The Tánaiste had a few of those himself.

When he had hair.

In regard to the specific ethics provision, which I understood the Deputy would raise on the Order of Business, that has been approved by Cabinet and will be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

When?

It will be brought forward as soon as may be and the House will have an opportunity to debate it. The Deputies should relax, it is coming.

The Tánaiste is a failure.

He is only a mudguard for Fianna Fáil.

The Tánaiste's arrogance does not make for good legislation.

The Cabinet approved the text of the Bill and Deputy Kenny knows it is coming. He has merely rattled out a series of assertions. There are questions he does not want asked — his only direct question to me was when this ethics legislation will be brought before the House. It is the next legislation that will come before the Seanad shortly and it will come to this House thereafter.

It is always tomorrow.

The Tánaiste is a total failure.

He will not be here in three weeks' time.

Deputy Rabbitte should be allowed to speak without interruption.