Re-election is not a vote of thanks for the past, but a vote of hope for the future, writes Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
Three weeks ago the Irish people went to the polls and yesterday the 30th Dáil met for the first time.
Accepting the nomination of the Dáil for the office of Taoiseach, I said that from a perspective of peace and prosperity, the abiding memory today of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s might be of economic hardship and emigration.
We should recall however that in a world at war and in a European continent oppressed by fascism and communism, that Ireland's proudest achievement then was the establishment of stable democracy. It remains one of Ireland's proudest achievements now.
For me it was a humbling experience to have the honour of becoming Taoiseach for the third time. It is also a great responsibility for the future. If Ireland today is a place of success and achievement it is also a country facing new challenges and emerging issues.
Re-election to government is not a vote of thanks for what has been achieved in the past, it is a vote of hope for what can be done in the future. The achievement of this generation is to have created a country of peace and prosperity and to have built imaginatively on the legacy bequeathed to us. Ireland's future rests on firm foundations.
Now my challenge and the task of the Government that took office yesterday is to build on the peace and prosperity that has been so hard won. We will work imaginatively to address the existing as well as the new issues that will be the agenda of the next five years. I believe that together we will provide stable government for five full years on the basis of an agreed programme for government.
In seeking to form a government with the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, I had clear tactical and strategic objectives.
Tactically I wanted to ensure that the government that took office would have every possibility of fulfilling its mandate and serve a full five-year term. It has been my conviction for as long as I have been Taoiseach that this is the job the people rightly expect of their government.
Instability and the threat of frequent change in political direction makes it much more difficult to put in place long-term solutions to long-term problems. Unstable government can also add downward pressures on the quality of responses to shorter-term problems too. Political stability therefore is an important backdrop to good government.
If the simple fact of having the numbers to go all the way was a consideration, it was neither the only one nor the most important.
The overriding consideration in my mind was to try and bring together a government of ideas, energy and experience that would have both the sense of purpose and the capacity to lead Ireland forward. I believe that this Government of Fianna Fáil, the Greens and the Progressive Democrats will, with the support of like-minded Independent TDs, do just that.
Ireland is at a crossroads where we have the unique opportunity to make our island a place of permanent peace and to sustain prosperity for this generation and beyond. This requires both continuity of direction and new approaches for the future.
The strongest pillar on which our prosperity rests is the strength of the economy. This has happened by choice and not by chance.
The national debt has been reduced, corporation tax has been maintained at 12.5 per cent and the tax system has been truly transformed with large cuts in the rates and increase in credits.
This has had a profound impact in rewarding those at work and has put more money in the pockets of all the nation's workers.
Now we will build on these achievements by further reducing government debt, continuing tax reduction, including PRSI reform and increasing tax credits and bands.
Uniquely in Ireland's history, the opportunity has been given to this generation to realise our country's full potential. The policies in the agreed programme for government are progressive and sustainable.
They are based on clear social and environmental goals within a sustainable economic framework that will continue to deliver the resources to allow us to attain our goals over time. The Government that is in its first full day in office today will lead Ireland forward and face up to the challenges ahead.
We will not run risks with our economy for short-term political gain, that would be the surest way of seeing Ireland lose the opportunities for progress that are now within our grasp.
By budgeting responsibly and by investing in the National Development Plan, we will be making the crucial investments in wealth creation, in better services and in infrastructure that will ensure that prosperity lasts and is not lost.
For me prosperity has never been an end in itself. Wealth creation is the basis from which together we can fund life-changing policies and services. From child benefit to pensions, from pre-school to special needs, from cutting-edge R & D to a new fourth-level in Irish universities, we can with costed plans make real and discernible progress over time.
The Green Party is entering government for the first time and is the new element in the Government. Every new working relationship takes time to bed down and I firmly believe that ours will.
The discussions between Fianna Fáil and the Greens were tough and frank. They were also a process that led successfully to a meeting of minds, mutual respect and a shared understanding of how, together with the Progressive Democrats, we can lead Ireland forward.
The outgoing government spent much of the last 18 months working on important policies on climate change and energy. I had repeatedly highlighted the high political priority that Fianna Fáil placed on those issues. So, while there was a great deal of important detail to be discussed, there was also agreement that tackling environmental issues was going to be a very important part of future policy.
The synergy of ideas can make this a Government that is more than the sum of its parts. It is much more than continuity, it is about a new beginning. Experience, energy and idealism are powerful forces and as Taoiseach I hope to harness them to deliver on the hopes and aspirations that the Irish people have invested in us.