Madam, - Mrs Freddie Muldoon (February 14th) asks if anyone has "the time and patience to enumerate the promises the present Government has made that remain just that".
I would like to assure her that yes, the Government has taken the time to do precisely that and we published the results last July. (See "Department Publications" section of the Taoiseach's website at www.taoiseach.ie.)
We first set out the Government's commitments for its five-year term in the "Agreed Programme for Government between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats", published in June 2002, shortly after we were privileged to be re-elected to Office. And as we did during the previous Fianna Fáil-PD administration, we have insisted on compiling and publishing a progress report on the implementation of the agreed programme every year so that the public can gauge to what extent those commitments are being met.
The Programme for Government contains 477 specific pledges. With just under 18 months to go to the next election, some 80 per cent of the objectives and action points have been achieved or significant progress has been made.
Among our many achievements are that Ireland today has the lowest level of unemployment in the EU; the second lowest national debt; the second highest minimum wage; the highest investment in the EU on infrastructure; the fastest growth of all OECD countries in spending per capita on health; and the most generous tax and welfare system in the world for single-income families on the average industrial wage.
I am confident that, by the end of this administration's mandate, the Government will have substantially delivered on its programme. By the next election we plan to be able to present to the electorate an unprecedented record of delivery as well as new policies to build on the progress of recent years. - Yours, etc,
TOM KITT, Government Chief Whip, Government Buildings, Dublin 2.