Is mór an onóir dom a bheith anseo inniu le labhairt libh ag mo chéad chomóradh ar 1916 mar cheannaire ar Fhianna Fáil. Tá ár bPáirtí fite fuaite in Éirí Amach na Cásca agus bhí go leor de na daoine a bhí go mór chun cinn san Éirí Amach ar na daoine a bhunaigh an páirtí polaitíochta seo. Tá an Páirtí seo bródúil as na fir agus na mná a raibh baint acu le Seachtain na Cásca agus ní dhéanfaimid dearmad go deo ar an nglúin chróga sin a rinne íobairt chomh mór ar son na tíre.
Ní amháin go dtugaimid an t-am atá thart agus an ghlúin atá imithe romhainn chun cuimhne ar an ócáid seo. Inniu, smaoinímid arís ar na prionsabail a threoraigh na daoine a rinne íobairt dá mbeatha agus atá adhlactha anseo le go mairfidh na prionsabail sin inár stair agus inár n-intinn.
Cuimhnímid go bródúil ar maidin inniu na ceannaire atá curtha anseo agus ar an ról uasal agus ionsparáideach a bhi acu ag saothrú saoirse na tíre seo.
It was the vision and sacrifice of 1916 leaders that set this country on the road to independent statehood. They had an unwavering belief in the capacity of each generation of Irish people to confront the problems of their time through their own ingenuity and common sense, building on what had been previously achieved.
For the men and women of Easter Week, achieving our freedom encompassed their practical idealism and their faith in a better future for this country shaped by their fellow Irishmen and Irishwomen. The 1916 leaders who were laid to rest here gave their lives for an Ireland that would no longer be a colony protecting the interests of an imperial power, but a vibrant and sovereign country in which we are privileged to live today. That proud legacy is our inspiration as we continue to strive to build that Republic.
The patriotism, the commitment and the spirit of the men and women of Easter Week should be an inspiration to us all. Everyone knows that this country is battling the effects of a severe global economic downturn. But we should retain that same confidence in the capacity of the Irish people to weather the storm.
At these most difficult of times, the Government has made difficult decisions.
They are decisions that affect the lives of our people.
But they are the correct decisions.
There is a clear international consensus about the key policies needed to recover from the present situation.
History teaches us that recessions that are associated with a financial crisis tend to be deeper and longer lasting.
But most of all, we know that the path to recovery lies in prompt, speedy, consistent and forceful policy action by Government.
Since the beginning of the crisis, this Government’s response has been unprecedented in its breadth, its speed and its force.
Across the globe, everyone agrees on the need to proceed quickly with assessing bank viability and bank recapitalisation. We have done that with our scheme to recapitalise the main banks.
Everyone agrees on the need to address impaired assets systematically and to make the banks face up to the scale of their problems. We are among the very first countries in the world to tackle that problem with the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency.
All economies need to provide adequate liquidity and to free up credit markets. They also need to protect institutions of international importance. Our bank guarantee, which was criticised by many at the time, has since been emulated in many other countries. We are also far from alone in our decision to nationalise a major bank and to intervene in other systemically important institutions.
In addition, our strategic decision to become members of the euro in 1999 has been invaluable in helping us through this unprecedented credit crunch while, unfortunately, many other small economies outside the main currency zones have faced currency crises.
Fiscal stimulus, of course, has a role to play. It is also accepted internationally that stimulus should be constrained by the headroom available and that it should be directed at long-term productive investment. That is why the Government has chosen to borrow more money than intended over the coming years and to maintain a huge capital programme of €7.3 billion, even as we have to rebalance and reform our tax system and restore the public finances.
The fruits of that capital programme will be even clearer next year, as our inter-urban motorways are completed, and investment continues in our public transport, our airports, our energy system, our schools, our hospitals, our justice system, our homes and our farms.
That long-term focus has also been at heart of our new policies for the Smart Economy and for Public Service Reform, launched before Christmas and now being actively rolled out.
Finally, there is an international consensus on the need for reform of the financial system and the banks. That is why we have introduced the most wide-ranging reform proposals in the history of the State. We are introducing new systems of regulation and we are bringing in international expertise to ensure those systems are designed and run to the highest standards. We have also insisted on change at the top in the banks and in substantial reductions in top bankers pay. We are working within the international and EU Frameworks that have been established in that regard.
This crisis has a national and an international dimension. At international level, we have been actively co-operating with other countries to provide policies that are necessary to deal with this global financial crisis. Ireland is facing up to her problems and taking prompt, forceful and appropriate action as was evidenced by the recent Supplementary Budget.
I firmly believe that history will show that we were among the first countries to recognize the scale of the crisis and to put in place a comprehensive framework for recovery.
Republicanism at its core means the interests of the nation must take precedence over everything else. As Taoiseach, it is my duty to protect this country’s economic stability and lead us out of this crisis. In the period ahead, this Party will continue to do whatever it takes to put the Irish economy back on a sustainable growth path and to maintain as many jobs as possible as we manage our way through this recession while making the country more competitive for when international demand increases again in the future.
When people talk about hard times, we should remember that this Party was founded by men and women who had been prominent in Easter Week and in this nation’s War of Independence. That generation’s historic task was to deliver by every means at their disposal a free Ireland. They did so with courage, commitment and sacrifice. We too, in our time, have a responsibility to our wider community and our fellow citizens. Those of us who have jobs are being asked to contribute a little more to help the many who have become recently unemployed as a result of the recession. Today is a timely reminder of the sacrifices others have made in the past for their fellow Irishmen and women. We should be prepared to look to the wider common good during this difficult time for the country.
We should also, at this place, remember the great strides we have made to bring peace to our island and unity to her people.
The greatest achievement of recent decades has been the achievement of peace. My distinguished predecessor, Bertie Ahern, will forever be associated with that great national work and he has this Party’s enduring respect.
In our time, we have seen the vast potential of the Good Friday Agreement begin to be fully realised.
We have found a balanced constitutional settlement, which respects the aspirations of all of the people of this island and protects the rights of all of the people of this island.
We have built a new democratic framework for the relationships between the traditions on this island, between North and South and between Britain and Ireland.
We are actively developing co-operation in an innovative, practical and historically unprecedented way.
We are building a stronger all-island economy, massively improved infrastructure and better cross-border public services.
Most importantly of all, we are building new friendships based on respect and trust.
It was those new friendships, which spring from the democratic will of the Irish people that will sustain us in maintaining the peace and confronting those who would seek to violently disrupt the progress that has been made.
To those who use violence to attack the democratic institutions established by the people in 1998, we have a simple message — the democratic will of the Irish people must be respected.
Those who turn to violence will be rejected and they will face the full force of the law.
They will not be allowed to succeed.
In every generation, the Irish people have faced challenges. We should in our present circumstances take inspiration from those we honour here today and recognise we are a resilient people who have faced even greater adversity before.
This global economic crisis is but the latest challenge.
We have come through in the past because of the ingenuity, steadfastness and courage of our people. I believe that this generation too will meet the test. We should not let these tougher times sap our spirits. We cannot let our confidence be drained nor can we lose the will to compete and manage our way through to the better days ahead. We must believe in ourselves and our ability to thrive as a people as so many in past generations did before us.
The present battle for Ireland’s economic stability and security will be won. I ask all of you, party supporters and the people at large, for your support for the Government and our efforts to win through for a better era for our people.