Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

Mar atá ráite ag ceannaire mo pháirtí, ní bheidh Sinn Féin ag tabhairt tacaíochta do Enda Kenny mar Thaoiseach inniu. Ní rud pearsanta é seo. Tá an tír ag cros-bhealach agus tá an treo a ghlacfaimid san am atá amach romhainn íontach tábhachtach, ní dúinne atá inár suí anseo ach dos na daoine sa bhaile atá ag braith ar thús úr le todhchaí na tíre. Tá eagla ormsa go bhfuil siad ag dul a bheith ligthe síos go mór ag an chlár oibre atá curtha le chéile ag an Rialtas úr.

We are at an important point in our history. People marched to the ballot stations in their hundreds of thousands, in numbers never seen before, and gave a resounding vote of confidence to Fine Gael and to other political parties in their different measures. More so than who they voted for it is clear that what people voted for is change. Each of the political parties argued on a platform of change. One of the most disappointing things we will see in the coming period is that this hope will be snatched away from people. As bad as the dark period under the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government was, where we had a programme of austerity measures that impacted on the lives of everybody, what is to come may be even worse. When the vision of hope is dangled in front of our eyes, when people see there is a way out only to have it snatched away in a couple of hours in the formation of a programme for Government, that is worse than what has gone on in the past.

We have not heard much of the famous catchphrase that was used throughout the election campaign, namely, the five-point plan. The first point was the provision of 100,000 jobs and a stimulus package of €7 billion. This does not appear in the programme for Government.

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