The Taoiseach and the Government were elected because of the widespread anger at how the previous Government had behaved. He clearly knew that the people wanted equality and transparency and they still do.

The Deputy wanted to bring the Government-----

Will the Deputy please stay quiet?

The Taoiseach promised to bring this about, but his promises were cynical and not based on any real conviction. It was rhetoric that tapped into the people's hope and desire to have society organised fairly. There is little talk nowadays from the Taoiseach about the Government's five point plan because, of course, it was never a plan but a PR device. On the Taoiseach's watch there has been a drastic rise in the levels of emigration, poverty and inequality.

And employment.

And the minimum wage.

We have a more divided society, an ever-worsening housing crisis, the closure of Garda stations and post offices, while the health service is in chaos.

I ask Deputies to please stay quiet.

The Taoiseach also promised to deliver political reform.

That is great for the economy.

He promised that every vacancy to fill a paid directorship on a State board would be advertised through the Public Appointments Service. He said the directors of all State bodies would be asked to resign and reapply for their positions within six months of a Fine Gael-led Government taking power.

The Deputy should try that himself.

None of this happened. The Government stole Fianna Fáil's social and economic policies and also perpetuated its culture of cronyism and political patronage. In the past week the Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, chose to appoint Mr. David Begg as chairperson of the Pensions Authority. The arrogant way in which she did this, irrespective of Mr. Begg's suitability, made a mockery of the Taoiseach's promise to deliver new politics, but she is not on her own. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton; the Ministers of State, Deputies Gerald Nash and Joe McHugh, and the Taoiseach have done the same. The Taoiseach conspired with the Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, to appoint the Fine Gael candidate, Mr. John McNulty, to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in order that he would qualify to seek election to the Seanad. Does the Taoiseach agree that all of this cronyism is in contravention of the pledges he made to the electorate?

The Deputy might like to congratulate-----

The Taoiseach is well able to answer the questions asked.

I take Deputy Gerry Adams's comments about cynicism and conviction at the distance warranted. The Government wants to ensure the recovery under way will continue and be spread throughout the country. To do this its priority is to continue to create more and better jobs such that work will clearly be seen to pay. To create more jobs one will have to strengthen the economy to invest in public services provided by teachers, nurses, gardaí, prison officers, special needs assistants and resource teachers. We are not relying only on the reduction of taxes to make the economy strong. It is actually both because it leads to the creation of more jobs which generates the strength to invest in public services.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has introduced the Public Sector Standards Bill. Deputy Gerry Adams spoke about political reform. The Government has held more referenda than any previous Government. It set up the Convention on the Constitution and some of its recommendations have been implemented. Some will be implemented and others may the subject of future referenda.

The Government got rid of corporate donations. We have made changes to how business is run here, including giving the right to individual Deputies to introduce Private Members' Bills, complete independence and authority to Members of the House in the election of a successor to the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Barrett. These are just some of the issues on which the need for political reform is mentioned.

On appointments to State boards, I support the Tánaiste in the motion against her as a capable person in her work and duty as Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. On public appointments, the criteria are now drawn up between Departments and the Public Appointments Service for the range of qualifications needed by individuals who apply directly to and are vetted independently by the Public Appointments Service.

That is rubbish.

Ministers do not even know the names of the individuals who actually apply. In the case of chairpersons to be appointed, they all have to appear before the relevant Oireachtas committee to make their case.

It is a coronation again.

That represents a major change from what applied previously. Every Minister is entitled under law to determine if a person with suitable qualifications might be available and accept the appointment of a chairperson of a particular board. That applies under the Act. All chairpersons are required to go before the relevant Oireachtas committee to make their case.

They are also required to be from Fine Gael or the Labour Party.

How did the Deputy get on a board?

What board was the Deputy on?

Who asked me to move off it?

It is the chopping board that Deputy Derek Keating will be on.

As a temporary Chairman, Deputy Derek Keating should know better.

Who asked me to move off it, Gerry?

He was politically removed.

I was.

Do not excite yourself.

It is called hypocrisy of the worst type.

The Deputy should show some respect for the House.

In my question I tried to contrast the rhetoric as the Taoiseach tapped into widespread public anger and his failure to deliver on the promises he had made.

He avoided answering that when he responded and is skirting around the issue. He made detailed promises on political reform. He promised a public appointments Act that has never materialised. Why? The Taoiseach promised a vote in presidential elections for Irish citizens living abroad and a more transparent system of political funding. He promised to create an electoral commission. He has ignored numerous recommendations of the Constitutional Convention. It has been broken promise after broken promise. People still want fairness, equality and transparency.

A question, please.

They want a caring society and they want to be treated as citizens but the Taoiseach treats them as fools. He has blustered and bluffed his way through all of this. Apart from the demographic that Fine Gael is targeting at the next election, increasing numbers of people know he will not bring this about because he has no conviction about these issues.

Will the Deputy put his question?

Yesterday, and again today, the Taoiseach expressed confidence in the Tánaiste. He has little choice, however, as they are in this together, recycling the old politics of cronyism and insider machinations which are the opposite of the democratic revolution the Taoiseach promised. It is time for the Taoiseach to go. I said it yesterday.

"I was never a member of the IRA," of course.

The Taoiseach has run his race and failed the people. Will he please let the people have their say on the past five years of failed politics, particularly, but not exclusively, on this failure and refusal to bring in the type of reform which he promised?

Five years spent restoring the economy.

Five years of growth.

We have an awful lot of taoisigh here this morning. Are they all going to take on Deputy Adams?

Deputy Adams’s central charge is about failure to deliver. The mandate given to this Fine Gael-Labour Party Government was to fix our public finances and put our country back to work. Five years ago, we took over these benches by mandate of the electorate. Interest rates were more than 15% and unemployment was 15% too. We had a haemorrhage of emigration, 300,000 jobs lost and a total collapse of our banks. People's ambitions and their life careers were all gone because of the antics of, and maladministration by, the previous Government.

Sinn Féin wants to go into government with Fianna Fáil.

Deputy Adams has never supported anything that ever came from Europe. He wanted them to go away, get lost and go home. When he speaks about equality, the actions of the Government were not just rhetoric. The first action we took was to reverse the cut in the minimum wage imposed by the previous Fianna Fáil Government.

Hear, hear.

The second action we took was to reduce VAT from 13.5% to 9% in the hospitality sector, stabilising that industry and creating 35,000 jobs.

Hear, hear.

What has this got to do with the question that was asked?

The Government reduced the levels of universal social charge introduced by Deputy Martin when in government at the lower ends and capped the benefit of universal social charge at €70,000.

Up to €12,000 is what the Taoiseach will benefit from that. That is what he will pocket from that one.

Will Members stay quiet?

I am already committed to the abolition of the universal social charge over the next several years as a matter of equality.

It ill behoves Deputy Adams to talk about confidence when he stood up in public and said he had wonderful confidence in a person called Slab Murphy.

Hear, hear.

"I was never a member of the IRA," of course.