Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Sinn Féin has no difficulty in supporting the points in the Fine Gael and Labour Party motion as tabled, but it clearly does not go far enough. Amendment No. 2 in the names of the Sinn Féin Deputies reads:

After "May 2002;" in the sixth paragraph, to insert the following new paragraph:

"—the failure to end the inequitable and inefficient two-tier system within our health services and the drive to privatise our health services through massive subsidies for the private health business while the public system is in crisis;".

Amendment No. 3 reads:

After "farm families;" in the fifteenth paragraph, to insert the following new paragraphs:

"—the privatization of the national airline, Aer Lingus;

—the failure of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to promote community safety and human rights and his misuse of his position to target individuals and groups in pursuit of his personal political agenda;

—the ongoing erosion of Irish neutrality and independent foreign policy through the continued provision of Shannon Airport facilities to US combat forces;

—the giveaway of our natural resources of gas and oil to multinationals such as Shell against the national interest and regardless of the concerns of local communities like those of Rossport, County Mayo;

—the failure to fulfil the Taoiseach's commitment to provide for representation in the Dáil for citizens in the Six Counties and the overall sluggish approach to the peace process by the Irish Government;

—the failure to protect working-class communities from the scourge of illegal drugs;

—the failure to ensure the enforcement of employment law and in particular the failure to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers who continue to make a huge contribution to the Irish economy and to Irish society;

—the failure to address income inequality and low pay resulting in this State having one of the highest levels of income inequality amongst OECD countries where the richest 20% of the working age population now earns 12 times as much as the poorest 20%;"

The Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats Government has brought inequality in society and incompetence in government to new depths. This is despite the fact that vast amounts of revenue are at its disposal. Never had an Irish Government, and seldom had any government in the world, such resources with which to build a society and an economy on the basis of equality and excellence.

These resources have been grossly mismanaged by the Government. It has pursued fatally flawed policies, nowhere more so than in the health services. Health policy is dominated by the privatisation agenda of the Progressive Democrats. While our public system struggles with shortages of beds and staff, the Government is pouring public money into the private health business. It is bolstering the two-tier system that makes our health services both inequitable an inefficient.

There is no mention of the two-tier system in this motion. That is because the Fine Gael and Labour parties cannot agree on it. The true political alignment in this Dáil was exposed just after midnight last night when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael joined together to vote through a defence Bill that undermines Irish neutrality and independent foreign policy. They were opposed by Sinn Féin, the Green Party and several Independent Deputies. The Labour Party, sadly, abstained.

This is the latest example of how on real policy issues, there is little or no difference between the two large right-wing parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. In typical opportunistic fashion, the Labour Party simply went into hiding, fearful to vote for the Bill lest it alienate many of their members and supporters, who value neutrality.

See this speech in context