As expected, the Government won its vote of confidence by a margin of four votes in the Dail yesterday, before the House adjourned for the summer recess. For most Government TDs, it was a welcomed relief following weeks of turmoil and controversy, unforced errors and growing public disillusionment. But the stated determination of the Opposition parties to force a general election at the earliest possible opportunity, promises little respite at constituency level over the next three months. The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, went so far as to announce the election campaign had already begun.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, summoned enough spirit to challenge that. Both concentrated on the successes of the Government and spoke of the possibility of remaining in office for a further two years. Mr Ahern justifiably laid emphasis on the progress made in relation to Northern Ireland before turning to the successes of social partnership. The Government had ended mass unemployment and emigration through national agreements, he said, and we were coming close to full employment for the first time in our history. There were 270,000 more people at work in the State today than three years ago and we had the highest minimum wage in Europe. As for rising house prices, homelessness and inflation, the Taoiseach promised to do better.
The leader of the Progressive Democrats regarded the achievements of the Government as "spectacular by any standards", with particular emphasis on the 270,000 more people who were in a position to share the wealth generated by rapid economic growth. In three years, it had cut the number of long-term unemployed by sixty per cent, she said. And two more Budgets would effectively eliminate the problem. As for the Flood and Moriarty tribunals, and the 13 inquiries she had initiated under company law, Ms Harney declared that while the level of corruption in Irish life remained to be established, there appeared to have been many powerful and influential people who felt political access, political favours and even political representatives could be bought.
Sleaze, stroke politics, rising inflation, house prices and the O'Flaherty/Sheedy affair formed the main strands of the Opposition attack. The Fine Gael leader, in particular, sought to establish a direct link between Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Ahern. And he utilised the old, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien acronym, "GUBU", to launch a blistering attack on both the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste for their misjudgments. Mr Ahern had signed blank cheques for Mr Haughey; ill-treated Mr Charlie McCreevy and appointed Mr Ray Burke, Mr Denis Foley, Mr Liam Lawlor and Mr John Ellis to important positions. Ms Harney, by her loose words, had prevented Mr Haughey's trial.
Mr Ruairi Quinn accused the Government of displaying arrogance and contempt for the electorate through its handling of the O'Flaherty nomination. The Taoiseach's lapses of memory at the Moriarty tribunal, last Thursday, and the failure of Fianna Fail to supply it with vital material, supplied further ammunition. The Labour Party leader repeated his demand for an end to corporate funding.
After more than six hours of Dail debate and a strong Coalition defence on economic and social grounds, the Government prevailed. This Dail session has ended with a whimper rather than a bang. Many expect that it will re-assemble to the sound of pre-election alarums. .