Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is possible to cut waste in public spending. The property tax, water tax, removal of medical cards, mortgage distress and lack of social housing have pushed people to the limit. The Members opposite are bound to know that. They do not need me to point it out. They all represent people in their constituencies, so they must know it.

Let us see some scrutiny not only of the policies of Sinn Féin but also of the policies of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil, which state that for decades to come our children and grandchildren should be forced to pay for the greed of the bankers, developers and corrupt politicians. That is not right or fair, and the Taoiseach should have put a stop to it. The reality is that there is no real difference between the leadership of Fine Gael and the leadership of Fianna Fáil on economic matters. Athnaíonn ciaróg ciaróg eile mar a deirfeá. They are two sides of the same economic coin.

However, the Labour Party should be different, and could be different. When will the Labour Party wake up to the unmistakable message delivered by the voters in May? When will the Labour leadership end its fatal embrace of Fine Gael? The Labour Party must decide, while it still has time, on a radical change of strategy. That will mean more than changing the party leader who, in fairness, sacrificed himself. He fell on his sword rather than involve the party in an internal feud, which he probably would have defeated. The party has time to get it right.

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