Ciarán Cuffe TD makes his first address as Minister to the Green Party members at their Annual Convention 2010.

"I am deeply honoured and privileged to represent the people of Dun Laoghaire as a Minister of State in Government.

I was searching for a way to describe in the words of the late Gerry Garcia, “what a long strange trip it’s been”.

You might think I’m talking about the last couple of months in Leinster House, but I’m not.

After the roller coaster ride of the last two and a half years I want to pause for a moment and recall a meeting that took place in the Glencree Reconciliation Centre in the Wicklow Hills back in 1982.

A small group of people met over the course of a weekend to draft the founding principles of the Green Party that still guide us today. We argued. We disagreed. Some people left the room, some slammed the door, but eventually we came to agreement on seven principles that still guide the Party’s work today.

We said that:

1.The impact of society on the environment should not be ecologically disruptive.

That still holds true. Protecting the natural world is even more important than ever.

We decided that:

2. Conservation of resources is vital to a sustainable society.

We’re investing more money than ever to conserve our water supplies. We’re helping households save money and energy in their homes.

We determined that:

3. All political, social and economic decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level.

We’re delivering major reform of local government, starting with a directly elected mayor for Dublin. I am proud that the Civil Partnership Bill is progressing through an Oireachtas Committee this week

We held that:

4. Society should be guided by self-reliance and co-operation at all levels.

Consensus, collegiality and making the right choices are at the heart of what we do.

We declared that:

5. As caretakers of the Earth, we have the responsibility to pass it on in a fit and healthy state.

That’s why John Gormley and I are preparing a Climate Change Bill to help protect our children’s future

We agreed that:

6. The need for world peace overrides national and commercial interests.

I’m proud we’ve played our part in resettling innocent detainees held in Guantanamo.

We affirmed that:

7. The poverty of two-thirds of the world’s family demands a redistribution of the world’s resources.

At a time of huge pressure on Ireland’s finances we are still ensuring that Irish Aid assists developing countries all around the world. Every day lives are saved.

    * Yes, it is difficult to stay focused on these principles as we sail through stormy waters.
    * Yes it is challenging to plot a course that avoid the rocks of boom and bust economics.
    * Yes, it is true to say that our reckless, broken banking system has failed us.

But I believe that the policies we are implementing will produce a recovery better founded to cope with the pressures of a modern open economy.

I am also passionate about the challenge of my new responsibilities. On one level it about the challenge of peak oil, climate change and energy security. But is also about joining the dots on sustainability.

Sometimes it is the little things that make the difference.

    * I want to make it easier for children to walk to school by themselves.
    * I want a public transport smart card that works on buses, trains and trams.
    * I want to promote Irish farms that produce some of the best food in the world.

We’re doing this, not because it is easy or because we have a want of power but because we believe in what we’re doing, because it is the right thing to do.

Our time in Government is not a time of largesse, of plenty, where difficult decisions can be ignored or avoided.

Our policies are nurturing the new jobs that will respond to the winds of change.

But we need more than this.

I was shocked to hear last night that one of Ireland's finest architectural firlms Murray O Laoire with offices in Limerick and Dublin has gone into liquidation. Many of my friends from college have spent their entire careers with the firm.

We cannot stand and watch. There is a direct link between that firm's demise and the need to tackle our financial crisis.

We have to recapitilise the banks, so that money can flow, so that people can create jobs and employ others. This has to be done, not to revisit the excesses of the Tiger years, but to put Ireland on a sustainable path. To do that we need a 'fada' shaped recovery with slow steady growth of the right kind.

Our Ministers are working hard to achieve this.

Eamon Ryan as Energy Minister IS ensuring our power companies move away from finite fossil fuels toward our abundant clean, green resources, it’s because we know that is the way of the future

John Gormley as Environment Minister is reforming the way we deal with water, waste, building and heritage. He’s putting manners on the recidivist rezoners.  I’ll work closely with him in the areas of land use, planning and climate change.

Minister Trevor Sargent at the Dept of Agriculture has worked hard and delivered in the areas of food and horticulture. I’ll work closely with Trevor to continue his excellent work

I know that Mary White will hit the ground running on the challenges of Equality and Integration. As the first women Minister for Carlow Kilkenny she will deliver.

Our time in Government is one of challenge, of responsibility, of doing what is in the long-term interest of our nation so we can live in harmony with our natural environment, so that the planet and Ireland will weather the Storm, and sail into calmer waters ahead.

We won’t be found wanting. We wont shirk our responsibility. We are clear and focused and about what has to be done to turn this country around, to put our economy on the path to sustainable recovery. We’re not here to do what’s popular or easy, we’re here to do what’s right.

Thank You."