Clientelism:Gombeenism in Government has to end, Green Party chairman John Gormley said, describing the party as "radical, realistic, responsible and ready for government".
Moreover, he added: "I cannot bear the thought of another five years in Opposition."
He tore into Fianna Fáil and the PDs, whom he claimed lived on another planet, called "Planet Bertie". And he described Tánaiste Michael McDowell as the "Tammy Wynette of Irish politics - standing desperately by his man Bertie".
Mr Gormley promised that the Greens would provide 3,000 acute hospital beds and the necessary nursing home and convalescent beds which the Government promised in 2001.
He also pledged that the recommendations of the task forces on alcohol and obesity would be implemented, the sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol would be ended along with the advertising of junk food to children and vending machines would be removed from schools.
Mr Gormley said that "on Planet Bertie, you can sign blank cheques, because everyone does it apparently. On Planet Bertie you can spend the average industrial wage on make-up. On Planet Bertie you can save €50,000 without a bank account. And on Planet Bertie, climate change doesn't exist". He said it was "so strange and so alien to our sensibilities that it's a planet that we Greens would like to avoid. For let there be no doubt, we want Fianna Fáil and the PDs out of Government."
The Green Party wanted change, he said but Michael McDowell wanted things to stay the same.
Criticising Minister for Health Mary Harney, he asked how she could promise a world-class health service "if we continue to help the wealthy through further tax cuts". The election had turned into a race to the bottom.
"The politics of the lowest common denominator are irresponsible, they insult our intelligence and they demean us all."
He promised, among other regulatory measures, a register of lobbyists to curb the influence on policy. The Greens, he said, "want high standards in high places . . . because strong ethical standards improve the quality of our democracy".
