Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Of course the Tánaiste has confidence in the Chief Whip because she herself accepted political donations from speculators. The Tánaiste cannot evade responsibility for the consequences of the ethos which her Government has inculcated into Irish society. Has it ever occurred to the Tánaiste that the escalating cruelty and sheer callousness towards the fate of others, witnessed on the mean streets of Dublin in recent days and months, is really only a distorted reflection of the greed and callous disregard for social solidarity demonstrated by the very profiteering speculators and developers who have been financing her party and other parties? They are the exploiters of migrant workers and their ethos of greed is not only facilitated but glorified by her Government. When the Government allows speculators to become obscenely rich, for which homebuyers will pay for most of their lives, and Government politicians take substantial donations from those speculators when they illegally or legally accept donations from them, is the message not clear? The Government shrugs its shoulders and turns away. For the tens of thousands stuck with crippling mortgages as a result of the speculators who finance the Government parties we must say the PD sandwich has gone quite stale, in fact somewhat rancid. It is an indictment of the Government that it stands over and fuels this greed.

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