The Government will attempt to keep the public's attention focused on the benefits of a buoyant economy and on its new childcare provisions in the Dáil session which opens at Leinster House today.
With a general election on the horizon, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are likely to concentrate on developing the feel-good factor that emerged in the aftermath of a popular December Budget and strongly lifted support for the Coalition.
For their part, the alternative government parties will attack the Government on issues of ministerial complacency and public waste; for its failure to deliver effective health reforms, to combat violent crime and to stem a rising tide of road deaths. In particular, Fine Gael and the Labour Party will demand a greater degree of parliamentary accountability and oversight and an end to the public scandal that saw the Dáil meet in plenary session for only 92 days last year. The Opposition parties are proposing the introduction of a four-day Dáil working week, with shorter holiday periods.
The Government's legislative programme for the new Dáil session, which was published yesterday, offers no surprises and bears the hallmark of ministers who are largely marking time. As expected, the Finance Bill and the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill represent the major pieces of legislation which will dominate the new session. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, will introduce new nursing home fees while providing for repayments to those pensioners who were illegally charged in the past. A Bill dealing with defamation is also scheduled. Elsewhere, the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, will introduce legislation to fast-track major construction projects. But parallel changes in reforming the courts' appeal services for planning matters are awaited.
Northern Ireland is likely to remain a significant element on the political agenda in the coming months. Efforts by the Irish and British governments to re-establish an Executive in the aftermath of IRA decommissioning will intensify. But this is likely to be a slow and difficult process. And the attitude of the Democratic Unionist Party to sharing power with Sinn Féin may find echoes on this side of the Border. In spite of such difficulties, public confidence in the Government's ability to handle these issues is likely to remain firm.
Economic growth is predicted to reach 6 per cent in 2006, with employment levels continuing to rise. In such a positive economic climate, the Opposition parties will find it hard to make progress and they are likely to concentrate on negative campaigning, in terms of ministerial incompetence, arrogance and wasteful expenditure. Negotiations on a new social partnership agreement will address issues of job displacement and the protection of working conditions. These matters may feed into a broader Dáil debate on Government policy concerning the needs of low-paid migrant workers and the provision of social housing, welfare and health benefits.